Gaara and Yugare
by Little Kunai
Summary: Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro were on a mission in Water Country,When Gaara wakes up, he finds himself in a cave with a mysterious Waterfall Shinobi Gaara and OC pairing.
1. Gaara Loses It!

**Gaara and Yugure**

**Disclaimer: **

**I do not own Naruto. That honor belongs to Kishimoto**

**Chapter One**

**Gaara Loses It!**

Gaara, and his siblings crouched in the trees, the air of Water Country chilled him to the bone, causing goose bumps to rise on his pale skin. The target walked out of the woods on the other side of the lake. She shook her pale hair from her eyes and began to undress. Now was the time to strike. The three sand nin transported themselves in the blink of an eye and surrounded the target. The target ran for the lake.

"Quick! Stop her before she reaches the water!" Cried Temari.

Kankuro began to use his chakra strings but the water demon flowed right over them and Temari in her haste tripped over the strings and Gaara in turn tripped over her. He let out a loud gasp as he fell into the icy lake. Now he was really mad! He stood up, water streaming from his body. He was panting hard and started forming hand signs. Before he could complete them, the ground beneath him began to shake and the lake's furious waves stirred up the corpses of victims past. One powerful wave rushed over him, and he felt a sharp, blinding pain on his temple.

Gaara woke up in a dark cave. Temari lay beside him completely unconscious. His head throbbed and was matted with blood; the last thing he remembered was being knocked out by the water demon's powerful wave. Gaara growled irritably, he remembered when he was a child and had tried to hurt himself to see what pain felt like, it wasn't all that great! There was someone else in the cave with him; he could make out her dim silhouette tending a small fire.

"So, you're awake?" She said, her voice was smooth and pleasant. She turned around and for the first time ever Gaara did a double take at the sight of a beautiful girl. She was small and petite, with a lean muscular build and long dark brown hair, so dark it was nearly black. She had gold-green eyes, that sparkled and shone, her headband bore the insignia of a Waterfall Shinobi. Gaara sat there with his mouth hanging open, and then he suddenly felt like an idiot and snapped it shut. She raised an eyebrow in amusement, and her mouth quirked with good humor. Her laughing eyes somehow didn't bother him, and he felt himself blush under her scrutiny.

He and his siblings had been sent out on a mission to the Land of Water to kill the water demon Monomane. Now he and his sister were in this cave with a complete and total stranger. She knelt down and gently wiped off the caked blood from his wounds. Even though it hurt, the feel of her hands on his skin evoked a strange shivery feeling somewhere in the pit of his stomach that he had never felt before. It certainly wasn't unpleasant, he thought.

Temari had already been tended too, her thigh and side were wrapped tight, and she was sleeping soundly. The girl bandaged his head and then walked towards the cave entrance, Gaara shifted uncomfortably. She turned around and smiled gently.

"If it's not too much trouble, could you make sure the fire doesn't go out while I'm away? The kindling's over there." She gave Gaara one last look, winked and left the cave.

Gaara frowned, that look was very familiar, yet he was having difficulty placing it. He had seen it before somewhere he was sure of it. Then he remembered! It was the same look that Temari, Sakura, and every other foolish girl gave whenever they got anywhere near Sasuke Uchiha. Except this time it was directed at him. He had never had anyone look at him like that before. Much to his dismay, his traitorous brain and body really enjoyed it, and he wanted her to look at him like that again and much more, though he had no idea what that "more" entailed. He simply knew that there was something he wanted, something primal.

He frowned and gazed into the fire contemplatively, until he was startled by soft footsteps. The sand at his feet shifted and stirred ominously, but it was the girl with two fat rabbits and some wild vegetables. She sat down and took out a knife. He watched as she prepared the rabbits and vegetables; throwing them into a pot that she had hidden in the cool cave. The savory smells woke up Temari. But her greeting was anything but cordial.

"Who the hell are you?!" She snarled, sniffing audibly all the same.

"Man! Would it kill you to say thank you at all?" The other girl grumbled, looking irritated. "Anyways, I was sent to keep an eye on Monomane because we have reason to believe that she was headed towards the Waterfall Village. But you two were lucky to escape from Monomane, if I hadn't shown up when I did, you two would be pruning at the bottom of the lake, waiting to be become demon chow." She rolled her eyes and returned to the now bubbling stew.

After a while, she poured it into two bowls, and handed it to each of them. Temari wolfed hers hungrily and Gaara ate slowly, thoughtfully, his unblinking gaze on the mysterious girl. Temari soon fell back asleep after a full stomach, because for some reason she felt safe with this girl.

Gaara felt himself getting hard in his groin area; he frowned that had never happened before either. Had he been hurt there too? He didn't think so. But after an hour had passed, he was really hurting. He kept shifting around, but could not find a comfortable position. Temari was out of action, so he decided to ask the girl.

"Yes?" She asked when he called her.

"My crotch hurts." He said simply. This startled her momentarily,

"Uhhh..." She said.

"It's stiff, and swollen." He complained. Understanding dawned on her face and she went into a coughing fit to cover her laughter. Keeping herself from laughing was going to be the hardest thing she would probably ever do. She made a deliberate show of polishing the twin swords that rested next to her bedroll and when she had gotten her face under control, she turned around. Finesse was not her strong suit, never had been.

"It's hard because you're aroused." She said point blank.

He looked like a confused child, and she took a deep breath.

"It happens, it's natural."

"Aroused?" He asked slowly.

She blinked. "Yeah, it means...well, arousal happens when you want to have sex with someone."

"So, does that mean I want to have a child with you?"

"_Whoa! What had happened here?" _She wondered. She hadn't been expecting that to pop out of his mouth! She took a startled step back,

"Uhh...well that's the-primary reason, for it. But uh...people have sex for pleasure too."

His eyes burned intensely into hers, "Teach me." He commanded.

"_Ok," _she thought. _"Subtlety wasn't his strong point obviously." _

"What?" He demanded "Aren't you aroused by me?"

She answered honestly. "Yeah, actually I am." She meant that, from the moment she had found the shinobi lying there, she had felt strongly attracted to him. He was really hot actually. She wasn't into redheads, but he definitely had it!

"Then teach me." He demanded his voice a low growl which sent shockwaves through her body. She knew this man was dangerous. Who hadn't heard of Gaara of the Desert? She knew who he was. But something about his dangerous and dark persona was irresistible to her and she knelt down and kissed him.

Gaara let her take the lead, the pleasurable feeling in the pit of his stomach intensified. Without thinking he pulled her down on him and enjoyed the feeling of their tongues in mock battle. He felt her hands caress his back and he ran his fingers through her long thick silky hair. She took it slowly and patiently, which really surprised her, because this guy was obviously a virgin and she had never dealt with one before, passing them over in favor of more sexually experienced shinobi.

But her gentleness called to that sensitive, vulnerable boy hidden and partly destroyed by the Shukaku. Before he realized it, they were naked and she whistled appreciatively at his long cock, before she slid onto him, he moaned softly, his hand on her neck, and she began to pump him faster. His hips began bucking wildly of their own accord. His entire life killing had been his only pleasure. Now this new pleasure was overwhelming him like a great wave and finally he exploded. She had sensed it though and had swiftly moved off of him before he came. He had a look of wonder on his face and his eyes were wide and staring. For several more days they stayed in that cave, until their strength returned. The girl stole out of the cave and then beckoned to them. She made several hand signs Gaara and Temari had never seen before. She beckoned them to stay close and led them to the edge of Wind Country.

Kankuro was sitting at home. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried about Temari and Gaara. They hadn't come home for nearly a week and had vanished without a word. Suddenly the door slammed open with a flurry of sand. At first Kankuro thought it was a powerful sandstorm, but it was...Gaara. Well, that wasn't exactly a comforting thought either. Temari walked close behind him with a suspiciously wide smile...Gaara glared at her, and stomped off towards the bathroom.

"Where have you two been?" He asked nonchalantly, Temari rolled his eyes.

"Gaara lost his virginity." She snickered, when she heard the showerhead going off and decided that it was safe to talk without being overheard by her little brother. Kankuro choked on the chicken he was eating.

When he was finally able to breathe, he asked frantically.

"What? Temari-" She cut him off.

"Some Waterfall ninja brought us to this cave when we were injured. I guess Gaara had the hots for her."

"You just sat there and watched it?" Asked Kankuro who was truly shocked. Temari glared at him angrily and cracked her fan down on his head. He barely dodged it and she got him in the shoulder instead.

"What the hell? Are you crazy? What the hell kind of a person do you think I am!?!" She shrieked "He told me he had sex with her you idiot!" She sat down and told him what happened.

"And he told you all the details?" Kankuro asked both disgusted and intrigued all at the same time.

"I-he-no!" She stuttered catching him in the stomach with her fan this time. Kankuro gritted his teeth. Getting her riled up like this was definitely bad for his heath. He thought as he was knocked on the floor. Temari shot daggers from her eyes at Kankuro, as he picked himself up off the floor.

"I never would have thought it possible." He said thoughtfully shaking his head

"Yeah well I-" Temari froze as Gaara walked out of the shower.

"I could hear almost every word you said." Gaara said slowly, watching them both freeze like rabbits.

"So Gaara? Was she any good?" Kankuro couldn't help but ask, although he never thought he'd be discussing sexual adventures with Gaara of all people. Gaara sent a wave of sand to slam Kankuro against the wall, and headed for his room.


	2. Deception

**Chapter Two**

**Deception**

Yugure couldn't stop thinking about the red-haired Shinobi. She knew who he was and she was privately surprised that she was very much alive. She didn't speak about it to anyone but she thought about him, his dick was a decent size and he had felt so good. He had been shockingly gentle, considering his bloodthirsty reputation. She wanted him again, but knowing what she did about him, being deprived of any loving emotions from others he would possibly want much more then just casual sex…then again, he might not. She frowned, she had to get her mind off the man. She had a mission to do.

Gaara couldn't stop thinking about the Waterfall ninja in the cave. She was beautiful and losing his virginity had been pleasure like he had never known! He wanted her again. He decided to go out and find her. He left in the dead of night, and no one tried to stop him, both guards pointedly ignoring him. He walked for miles until he came to the cool leafy green country. Then he followed the river for a while, he was surprised to see her standing there in the moonlight. The girl turned around and Gaara smiled at her.

"I wanted to see you again. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

The girl blinked at him, "Gaara." She whispered, "I can't believe you are here." Gaara felt suddenly awkward at his sudden show of openness, and fell silent.

Several minutes passed and he asked. "What is your name?"

"It's Yugure."

Dusk he thought. Somehow, it seemed fitting that he would be attracted to a girl who was named for the evening.

She smiled at him. "I'd love to continue this conversation handsome, but I have a mission to do. Perhaps we'll talk later. I should complete the mission in a week's time, if I don't come back I'm either dead, captured, or most likely, hopelessly lost." She said with a grin.

Again Yugure gave him a saucy wink and leapt up into the trees. Neither noticed the ninja hiding in the thicket.

"So, one of the waterfall's most talented ninja is having a relationship with Sabaku no Gaara." The man said thoughtfully, "What if we could make use of this? Think how powerful we would become with his demonic offspring at our fingertips." He stroked his beard thoughtfully.

The ninja next to him tsked. "Yugure is headstrong and rebellious, she would never agree to such a thing."

The other man smiled, "Oh, I have ways around that particular problem." He said smiling.

"She can break free of genjutsu and even use it against her attacker." The man replied evenly.

"It's not genjutsu I'm thinking of." The first man said with a calculating gleam in his eyes.

"Be reasonable, the Sand cannot even control him. What makes you think we could control any offspring the sand demon might have?"

The first man smiled again, "Let me tell you my idea."

Gaara came back a week later. Yugure was there swimming in the pool below the waterfall. Her head snapped up as he approached and Gaara frowned, something did not seem quite right about her. But her seductive smile and naked body overcame any doubts in his mind as he removed his clothes and waded into the pool. She laughed, and opened her arms to welcome him. They looked at each other and she kissed him gently at first, but then with more passion. He moaned into her mouth and she stroked his dark red hair, before sliding down onto his hard cock. He gasped at her tightness and began to move her up and down instinctively, he was deeper inside her then he had been the last time and god it felt so good! He dug his nails into her back and had to struggle for a moment to keep the Shukaku from ruining this moment. The sun made the water drops on her eyelashes sparkle like jewels and her hands made circles on his back, the tempo increased and he bit her shoulder when he came eliciting a moan of pain and pleasure from her. They lay in each other's arms for a while, letting the sun and the cool breeze dry them off. Finally they changed into dry clothes, and without speaking a word went on their way.

_six months later;_

Yugure was climbing into bed, she was absolutely exhausted, and her pregnant sister had moved in with her, three months after her husband had been killed by Monomane. The demon was still on the loose, and Yoake

was distraught and crying all the time. Yugure had taken her in after the demon had destroyed their home, all surrounding nations had their ninja tracking the demon and trying to kill her, but the Monomane was constantly on the move and as she could take on any form, this only made things more difficult. It had been hard on everyone. Yugure did not like leaving Yoake here to go lengthy missions.

Yoake was too gentle, too sensitive, and too timid to ever lead the frantic, hazardous life of a ninja. She had married a jounin in the Village Hidden in the Mist. Hoegoe Nami had been a tough man and a formidable warrior on the battle-fields, but he had loved Yoake dearly and had died saving her and their unborn child. Monomane much to the Mist's surprise had been the incredibly heavy mists surrounding the village and the carnage had been awful to see. Even the most jaded ninja had trouble controlling the urge to throw up. They had rescued the survivors and followed the blood red cloud of mist that floated away cackling maniacally as the Waterfall and Mist ninja took off in hot pursuit.

Yugure had been vastly relieved to find her pregnant sister was alive and had taken her into her own home. However, with the threat of Monomane's devastating attack on the Mist, she had decided that her sister would be safer as a refugee in the Leaf Village while she was away. They needed every shinobi that could be spared and Yugure had no way of knowing when or even if she would return, and wanted her sister and unborn niece or nephew to be safe. Yoake had been both relieved and terrified when given the news, pleading with Yugure to remain. But Yugure had her orders and the next day they headed out for the Leaf Village. The guards stopped them at the gate.

"What is your business here?" He asked, Yugure stepped up to the guard,

"My sister is a widow, her husband was killed in the attack on the Mist by the water demon Monomane and she needs a safe place to give birth to her child while I'm away."

The guards looked sympathetic as they led the women in. The Leaf had been flooded by refugees lately, and had been equally dividing them between the villages of Sand, Grass, and Stone.

Tsunade sighed wearily as another refugee was brought in from Mist, the pregnant woman looked pale and sick and Tsunade frowned and asked if she could have a look at her after her sister had left.

"Lady Tsunade where should we place her?" Asked Shizune after the woman had been looked at and taken to the hotel.

"She'll have to stay here." Tsunade replied.

"But Lady Tsunade, the village is overrun and running low on resources as it is."

"She's having a very difficult pregnancy and needs to be on bed rest. If she doesn't, there is a strong chance she'll have the baby prematurely." Shizune felt tears prick her eyes.

Gaara was staring into the cloudy night sky, when he heard a noise. He jumped around when he saw Yugure and a small squad coming into the clearing.

"Are you sure Monomane went this way?" A man's voice asked, as Kankuro and Temari shot up.

"This is the coordinates the hunter nin gave us." Replied Yugure,

"Who's there?" Asked another one of her comrades.

"It's alright Hana I know them." Said Yugure catching sight of Gaara and winking saucily at him.

"Hey Gaara, is this the girl that-" Kankuro never got to finish his sentence, as Gaara's sand smacked him in the mouth.

"Gaara you haven't been talking about us have you?" She asked looking amazed.

Gaara couldn't fight down the blush that was rising in his cheeks. He didn't answer her and looked away.

She chuckled, "I remember you." Said Temari giving Kankuro a sly look. "You helped us out after Monomane attacked."

"Never introduced myself, I'm Yugure and these are my teammates Hoseki," the short dark-haired girl waved, "Seigi," the tall silver-haired man nodded, "Hana." A woman with bright pink hair grinned hopefully at Kankuro who grinned back, "Tanto" a red-haired man with bright blue eyes also grinned hopefully at Kankuro who blanched and "Yagi." A much older man with gray streaks through his black hair, and one blind eye huffed irritably.

"I'm Temari, and these are my brothers Kankuro and Gaara." She replied smoothly.

Yugure's tone suddenly turned business-like. "I assume you're following the same trail?" She frowned and sniffed the wind, "I smell rain." She said. Yagi snorted but said nothing. Kankuro was still ogling Hana and offered

"You want to camp out with us?" Yagi glowered at him, and Kankuro answered hastily. "There's safety in numbers." They looked at each other and considered for a moment when Yagi gave a curt nod and hunkered down next to the fire. The team followed suit and immediately began sharing information. Most of it was the same, which pleased Seigi,

"That better confirms that she's been here doesn't it?" He asked Hoseki.

"It might," she allowed, "but Monomane is a very clever demon. For all we know, she could just be sending us on a wild goose-chase."

Gaara was staring up at the quickly darkening sky. "It's been a while hasn't it, since we last saw each other?" He muttered quietly.

"Yeah, yeah it has." She said with a mischievous grin "Too bad now's not the time for catching up."

Gaara snorted. She stood up watching the rain clouds gathering.

"I have a very bad feeling about this. Yagi-san, I don't like the look of those clouds."

Yagi rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me a tough kunoichi like you can't handle getting wet?" He said derisively. "Women should never have been allowed to be ninjas."

Yugure breathed slowly, trying to control her temper. The other women glared at the old man.

"You didn't hear what happened to the Mist did you?" She asked dourly.

Kankuro frowned. "I heard bits and pieces of it," He replied.

Yugure told him the story. "There was an unusually heavy mist that day, even for the Mist Village. Monomane can't only imitate humans, plants and animals; she can become any form of moisture, including mist, rain and snow. She took on the form of the mist itself and slaughtered the villagers."

"Whoa!" Kankuro said. "That's kinda scary!" The Puppet nin didn't think he'd ever feel safe taking a shower until the demon was caught and killed.


	3. Raining Blood

**Chapter Three**

**Raining Blood**

Yugure and Gaara sniffed the air. "Do you smell blood?"

"Eh that's Gaara." Said Kankuro nonchalantly.

Yagi looked up in surprise at the red-haired Shinobi. But before he could respond it began to rain.

Hana began to shudder "It's raining blood!" She whispered horrified. The ninja looked up to the sky and heard a maniacal crackle.

"Come out come out Shukaku! Come drink from my bounty! The blood of my victims falls to the earth!"

Gaara shuddered, it would be damn difficult to control Shukaku! Especially when it was falling down from the sky! His bloodlust threatened to destroy this mission. The other ninja were staring at him. It was then that Shukaku spoke and there was no way Gaara could control it.

"How dare you try and tempt me out into the open Monomane, just so you can feast on me!" Then he chuckled, "It's sounds like something I would do myself! I will not be your trophy tonight!" Gaara's hands began performing seals, "tomin-suru-no-jutsu!" Shukaku screamed, then went into a sort of hibernation mode and Gaara breathed a sigh of relief.

There was a shriek of rage when Monomane realized that she had been thwarted. It was then that she attacked. Gaara's sand immediately went on the defense, forming a thick bubble around them.

Yugure screamed, "No Gaara! Your sand will suffocate us all!" With that she immediately threw up a thick, nearly impenetrable shield of ice over Gaara's sand shield. The watery form of Monomane crashed around them like a tsunami. The rest of the water nin immediately added their own chakra to the thick shield, but even with the combined strengths of the six ninja, it was barely enough to protect them from Monomane's onslaught. The ice began to creak.

"Oh crap!" Muttered Seigi. "We have to do something or we are seriously screwed!"

"We've backed ourselves into a corner." Groaned Kankuro.

"Hey you bastard! Wake up! I need your help!" Gaara screamed in his mind. There was no response from the bloodthirsty Tanuki. Just unfathomable silence and the presence of his tenant was so subdued it shocked Gaara! It was something he had always wanted, but now he needed the demon more then ever!

"Break!" The water nin nodded to the sand nin and they let down the shield just as Monomane reared up. They all leaped out of the way when she crashed back down.

"Retreat!" Yelled Yagi, and they all ran for it. Gaara hated that, he didn't like being chased. He did the chasing dammit! To flee before the enemy like a weakling made his vision go black.

"Get your fat, lazy ass out here and fight! If I die so do you Shukaku!" He screamed angrily, hating the sand spirit more then ever! "Shukaku you--you--damn coward! I always thought you were fearless!" He felt Shukaku stir--but much to his dismay, it was only to turn over on his large paunch and snore loudly. Gaara suddenly grinned when he realized Shukaku's snoring was fake, because he had felt Shukaku's anger through his own, he had caught the demon's attention! "You were once the great and feared Spirit of the Sands! Now look at you! Hiding from a puddle of water!" Shukaku's snore contained a snarl of anger. "Like a child who hovers under the sheets!"

Shukaku growled, "Be quiet foolish human! If you break the jutsu and release me, we will both die! Pride has nothing to do with this! Survival does! I cannot beat Monomane! I don't even think Kyuubi could defeat her." With that, Shukaku retreated into slumber once more.

Monomane weaved in and out like a roaring river. "Ninja blood! So sweet! Especially with a jinchuuriki at my mercy! How I long for it!"

Suddenly another group of ninja appeared before them and they combined their chakra to create powerful bursts of lightning! Monomane shrieked and roiled. Her agonized roars as the lightning continued to hit her over and over again made the ground beneath their feet shake. Monomane fled in terror with the Cloud nin hot on the retreating demon's heels Shooting enormous bolts of lightning at the water demon. They were all breathing hard.

"Wow." Said Hoseki, "Kinda makes you wish you could do Lightning jutsu huh?" They were all exhausted, and now it was raining in earnest, as if to wash away the blood that was soaking into the earth.

They had all huddled up together to conserve warmth. Gaara stared into Yugure's eyes, the raindrops sparkled off her eye lashes just as they had when they had passionate sex in the pool below the waterfall. Gaara felt his lust burning inside of him despite the cold rain that was now coming down in thick curtains. After the twenty-year-old realized that he could die, he wanted to feel alive. Yugure could help him do that, in a way that didn't involve murdering people.

Yugure grinned and let him approach. "My my, you've gotten bolder since--" her train of thought was cut off, as his lips captured hers in an aggressive kiss. He snarled hungrily as their tongues dueled. Her aggression matching his. He pushed her down, and slipped his fingers between her legs, playing with her clit, causing her to shudder. He could feel her getting wet, and that pleased him, he held back a shriek as she moved off him to put his cock in her mouth. Gaara gasped, and kneaded his fingers through her hair. As she circled the tip of his cock with her tongue. She deep-throated him, and it took all of his will-power to not come then and there.

"Enough!!" He whispered fiercely, shoving his cock roughly into her and pounding her until they both came.

Shizune smiled at the young woman who had arrived in Konoha one month ago. Yoake however was looking much better then before. She had found a friend in Shizune and warmth and comfort in Konoha. She was lying in bed relaxing in the bright sunlight when the baby began to kick and Yoake guided Shizune's hand to her stomach.

Shizune smiled at the wonders of a tiny life, growing inside someone. Even though she was a medic nin, something like this never ceased to amaze her. Plus she liked Yoake. She was sweet, gentle, and kind-hearted. It broke Shizune's heart to hear about Yoake's dead husband Hoegoe. A fierce Mist ninja who had a heart of gold, even though he rarely showed it. Because it was then that Yoake's hand strayed absentmindedly to her swollen belly and her eyes would get this far away look to them.

"So." Said Shizune brightly, "Have you picked out any names yet?"

Yoake smiled her far away smile. "If this child's a boy, I will name him, Hoegoe for his brave father, if it is a girl Tsuru.

"Tsuru?" Asked Shizune.

"Yes, because when Hoegoe and I discovered that we were pregnant, we were watching the cranes doing their mating dance…."

"You looked so beautiful when you came." Gaara told Yugure. "Just like at the waterfall."

Yugure was half-asleep. "Hmm. The waterfall? What are you talking about Gaara?" She murmured sleepily. But before he could answer this strange question, a group of Leaf Ninja, led by Kakashi appeared. Yugure was glad that she and Gaara were dressed.

Kakashi, Shikamaru, Tenten, Choji, and Sakura were with him. Yagi, and Gaara stood up.

They immediately began talking and Kakashi frowned.

"Monomane is heading this way, she'll be here by morning." They all paled.

"We just escaped Monomane, we would have been dead if it weren't for those Cloud ninja." Said Temari.

Kakashi grinned, "I know they saw the whole thing and it's given us an idea on how to get rid of Monomane."

Yagi raised his eyebrows. "How do you propose we do that?" He asked,

"We declared a temporary international peace treaty." Explained Shikamaru, "Even with Sound. Now when Orochimaru's Sound ninja performed that barrier to keep the Hokage in and the Anbu out, anyone that touched the barrier disintegrated into flames. So, if we have the Sound create that same barrier around Monomane and she won't be able to escape, and the Cloud can finish her off."

"It's a good plan." Agreed Hana. "But that won't be an easy feat. Luring her in would be best, but we have to find a way to trap her without making it seem obvious."

It was then that Gaara volunteered. "I'll be the bait."

Chouji gave Gaara a confused, but grateful look because he had been afraid that someone would suggest using him as bait.

"Why would she want you?" Shikamaru asked.

"Because Monomane has a taste for…demon blood." Gaara said, grinning as he felt Shukaku's fear roiling inside of him. Sakura opened her mouth to ask how he knew that, but thought better of it and snapped it shut again.

Kakashi blinked, "Okay. Well now that that's all settled, let's get down to business."


	4. Life and Death

**Chapter Four**

**Life and Death**

Kakashi nodded to the sand-nin, Gaara knew what he had to do. In his own way he considered it payback to what Shukaku had done to him all his life. He forced the Shukaku up and out of him, but only part way.

Shukaku began screaming. "No! You fool, what do you think you are doing?"

But too late, Gaara had half-transformed into Shukaku. Monomane smiled when she smelled another demon! The essence of a demon was a weird and wonderful taste! This one was the heady, essence of the earth itself! She cackled and began to descend upon the terrified demon. She struck and Shukaku/Gaara began to fight for their very lives! She struck again, and they had to stay mere inches away from her sharp fangs!

Yoake was taking a short walk into the warmth of the setting sun, when the birth pains began!

"No!" She thought. "It's too soon!"

Naruto had caught sight of Yoake, and watched her crumble. He knew he should go get help, but his instinct was to stay with her. For such a gentle woman, his hand sure did get crushed in a death grip. But hey! He was going to be the next Hokage someday! He could handle it! Her face was contorting in pain as her water broke! Naruto carried her to the softest grass patch ever. He knew it was soft, because Shikamaru loved to lay there the most. Yoake felt a strong urge to push down hard.

Gaara/Shukaku hit the water demon with all they had. She split in two around them and began clawing their back and throat. They screamed in pain and rage as one and then Gaara/Shukaku bit Monomane's face before she could transform. He wrapped sand around her and hardened that sand into glass. Monomane screamed in rage as she began causing tremors to break that glass.

The Leaf, Sound, and Cloud Ninja looked to Kakashi. He shook his head no. It was not time yet.

Yoake screeched in agony now, as the birth pains within her became excruciatingly difficult to deal with. She knew something was horribly wrong as her screams became more high-pitched!

Gaara/Shukaku snarled in ear-splitting unison. Monomane had grabbed them in the throat and her watery claws sunk deep. Instantly Gaara felt his lungs begin to heal! He had to keep her distracted though until just the right moment. He laughed his blood-curdling laugh, that made all of the other stand-by ninjas deathly afraid! Again Monomane was contained, but this time in a large sandy pool which the water nin had filled quickly.

The Sound Nin had performed the same barrier around Monomane, as they had when The Third Hokage had died.

The Cloud-nin jumped onto a high platform, and began shooting lightning bolts, but unfortunately Monomane had caught a firm hold of Gaara/Shukaku and they screamed in pain as the electricity hit them. Gaara's flesh crackled and burned and then healed again.

Yoake's scream was now high-pitched and Naruto, who had never seen a birth before, knew that something was horribly wrong. At that moment he caught sight of Neji and Rock Lee.

"Go find Granny Tsunade quick!" He yelled. Lee bounded off in one direction, Neji stopped for a minute using his Byakugan on Yoake. He frowned before bounding off. Her screams were getting worse, _"The tone is all wrong somehow." _Thought Naruto, feeling numb and confused. Yoake held Naruto close to her. In a half-crouch he sat there, her screams were deafening. _"Dammit!" _He thought frantically, _"Where are they?" _

"Naruto!!" She shrieked, "I can feel the-oh gods-the baby's coming now!"

Naruto was grateful Yoake was wearing a skirt, so he could take her undergarments off of her and held out his hands, terrified and unsure of what to do next.

Gaara/Shukaku had broken free of Monomane and were lying exhausted as she began to shriek. The water lit up and the pool had an eerie golden glow, as the Cloud nin redoubled their attack on Monomane. They had all taken food pills to increase their chakra so that they could last longer. Monomane was in agony, and furious that she could not take that bastard Shukaku with her!

Yoake gave one final push and blood erupted from her mouth like a tiny geyser. The baby wailed angrily and Naruto's eyes widened with shock! Oh shit! He thought to himself as he stared down at the howling newborn. He just held it awkwardly; terrified that he would harm the perfect little infant.

Shizune and Rock Lee had arrived, but it was too late. Yoake was dead. Shizune felt tears welling in her eyes and Neji had arrived a moment later. Naruto looked at Yoake.

"Neji! What's wrong with her? Is she gonna be alright!? Look Neji look!" Naruto demanded.

Neji's cold, arrogant face softened when he looked at Yoake. He did not need his Byakugan to tell him this woman was already dead. At Naruto's shouting the baby started wailing again and Naruto looked panicked. He looked down at Yoake and again at Shizune and Neji's faces.

His own face crumpled. _"This isn't fair!" _He thought, as his whole body began to shake uncontrollably. _"This is supposed to be about life! Not death! This is supposed to be a happy moment!" _At that thought, his body was wracked by sobs. He didn't care that Neji was there or Lee because Lee was crying too. Naruto had seen many gruesome things in his life, but somehow this was the worst! Naruto glanced at Neji and glared! He hated the Hyuuga for his impassive face and cold demeanor. The infant became more upset and that's when Neji shocked them all. The arrogant Hyuuga gently held out his hands and Naruto was too shocked to do anything but hand him the baby. Neji's eyes snapped open when he saw the baby, but regardless of what he saw, he began to croon some unknown tune and the baby girl soon relaxed and snuggled up next to him, falling asleep to Neji's song.

All the villages rejoiced! Monomane was finally dead! Yugure could go home now and soon bring her sister and child back home. The other ninja had already dispersed to their respected lands. She was guiding the Sand nin through the forest. As Monomane had come terrifyingly close to Konoha. _"They all look dead on their feet." _She thought to herself.

A leaf nin appeared in front of her. Genma looked. "Are you Yugure Maruyama?" He asked her as Temari and her siblings stopped in their tracks.

"I am." Replied Yugure cautiously. The look on the ninja's face could mean nothing good. _"Please don't let it be Yoake, please don't let it be Yoake, please don't let it be Yoake, please, please, please!" _She silently chanted.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, in the midst of such good news but…your sister died in premature childbirth."

Yugure was stricken. She stood frozen to the spot and the world around her stopped. Finally she whispered, "and the baby?"

"The baby is fine, in fact she's fully developed."

Yugure frowned, that didn't make any sense.

"Can I speak with you in private?" He asked her. She nodded and the Sand nin began to wander away. "Kazekage-sama?" Genma called out.

Gaara turned around.

"This involves you as well."

Gaara frowned, he wondered why a dead woman related to his mate- _"His mate?!" _He frowned again and shook his head. _"Where the hell had that come from?" _He asked himself, scowling.

Genma looked at both of them, "Well," he said "This child is--a half-demon."

"What?!" Exclaimed Yugure quickly.

"Not just any half-demon, well she's--" and Genma turned to stare at Gaara. "The little girl, is--is--half Tanuki!"

Kankuro and Temari's jaws dropped to the ground. Gaara blinked stupidly at the man and Yugure could only stare.

"But how could that be?" Asked Yugure, beginning to shake,

"Gaara's never met my twin!"

"Your twin?" Gaara asked her. Then Yugure remembered something

------------------------------------------flashback--------------------------------------

"_You looked so beautiful when you came." Gaara told Yugure. "Just like at the waterfall." _

_Yugure was half-asleep, "Hmm. The waterfall? What are you talking about Gaara?_…"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most people would have jumped to conclusions. But Yugure was a shinobi through and through. Her analytical mind ground into action. Gaara did not know she had a twin. Her sister who had been married for seven years was not the kind to cheat on anyone. She had caught sight of Hoegoe and once he accepted her, she had never even looked at another man that way. Gaara mentioned a meeting at the waterfall, thinking it was her. As a result, her niece was half-tanuki. So someone had realized that she and Gaara were having a little fling and had targeted Yoake because she was easy to manipulate, possibly inducing a mind-trance. The only answer she needed now was the motive. She went to Yagi. She knew that they had orders to report to the Mizukage after Monomane had been killed. Regardless who killed her, but this was important. The Mist ninja frowned at her.

"I need to go and get my niece in Konoha, she's been orphaned and needs her family."

Yagi was not happy with this. He knew from reputation the disastrous results about Gaara's past.

"Niece?!" He asked hysterically. "Niece! Didn't you hear what the Leaf Ninja said woman? She's a demon!! A monster! You'd be better off throwing her in a fire!" He screamed.

Temari and Kankuro tensed waiting for Gaara to strike, but Gaara felt a sharp stab of pain instead. To have condemned an infant! This story was all too familiar to Gaara. If Yugure did not want the child he would take her, and perhaps ask Temari for help raising his--his--daughter.

Yugure whipped out her twin Katanas and the next thing Yagi knew was that he was on his back with the deadly swords poised in a perfect position for decapitation. He gulped as he felt the blood trickle from both sides of his throat.

"If-you-ever-say-anything-like that about my niece again---I will personally rip out your tongue--and make you choke on it! Do you understand Yagi?" She got up, her eyes blazing.

Hana said tentatively, "I'll cover for you Yugure, I'm sure the Mizukage will understand your situation."

Yugure nodded, "Thank you Hana, I owe you big time for this." She said to her friend. Hana nodded, as Gaara, Yugure, and Genma took off.


	5. The Little Crane

**Chapter Five**

**The Little Crane**

Naruto knew what it was like not to be loved. He also knew that Gaara knew what it felt like. He had been just as shocked to see an almost exact carbon copy of Gaara in the little girl, as he had been to see Neji take the baby. He gave her all the love she could practically want because the medic nins would only come in when it was necessary. Which made Naruto angry. He wondered if he had been treated that way when he was a baby. So he and the people who had been there at Tsuru's birth took care of occupying her, cuddling her, putting her to bed, reading her stories and amusing her.

Naruto was convinced that if Tsuru was loved and cared for, they could avoid having another Gaara on their hands. He also figured that if Gaara had known about his daughter he would want her to be loved. Tsuru had taken to Neji and even more shockingly, Neji had taken to Tsuru in the quiet and haughty way that only Neji could. Although he glared at anyone who got a cutesy look on their face or teased him about it. So Naruto, who was unwilling to allow Neji his pride, ribbed him unmercifully about it.

Naruto was grateful that Shizune began taking over more and more of the medical duties because sometimes he wanted to punch the nurses whenever they glared at her hatefully or fearfully. Tsuru was a beautiful little girl. She was Gaara all over again, except for her midnight-black hair. He started jiggling the little girl who began to giggle and then tossed her up in the air right as Neji walked in the doorway.

"Naruto! Be careful, you could give her severe whiplash!" Remonstrated Neji angrily, taking the infant away from Naruto.

Tsuru favored Naruto and Neji with a smile and caused Neji to grimace when she gave a sharp tug on his long hair. She was a happy and cheerful baby.

Hinata giggled when the baby spit up on Neji and she happily took the little girl from him as he went to go clean up. Hinata often accompanied Neji to do the things that Neji didn't like to do, such as change her diapers, burp her and bathe her.

Even Lee was determined to help and he often assisted Hinata in the more unpleasant duties.

Shizune was checking up on the little girl when Naruto asked. "Hey Shizune?"

Shizune looked at him expectantly.

"What's gonna happen to Tsuru?" His voice was quiet and subdued, he was very worried about the little girl's fate. Shizune turned towards Naruto.

"Well," she said, "Genma's been sent to go find the girl's aunt--and Gaara."

As if on cue, a woman walked into the nursery. Gaara and his siblings trailed behind her. Their hair was soaked with dried blood and their clothes were dirty and torn.

"Are you Shizune?" The woman asked.

Naruto gaped, it was almost like Yoake coming back from the dead-with obvious differences. This woman wore a Waterfall headband and she carried twin Katanas on her back. She was small like Yoake had been, but her muscles were well-defined.

"You must be Yoake's twin sister." Said Shizune.

The woman's eyes filled with tears as she shoved impatiently past Naruto to look at the little girl. Yugure stared at the little girl in shock. She was almost a dead ringer for Gaara!

Shizune looked at the woman with gentle pity in her eyes. She closed the door and said, "You guys can use the shower in one of the empty rooms to wash up if you like."

Yugure nodded mutely. She had not had time to herself to cry. Shizune disappeared for a moment then returned with towels, bars of soap and little bottles of shampoo and conditioner. Yugure walked into the stall and turned on the shower. She rinsed out her hair, staring with disgust as the bloodwashed down the drain. After she got clean to her satisfaction, she sat down in the stinging spray, put her shaking hands over her face and began to cry.

Temari, who had finished taking her shower, was holding her little niece somewhat apprehensively while waiting for the others to finish. She was unsure what a half-demon child was capable of, but the moment that Tsuru snuggled into her chest and cooed Temari melted. She began rocking the baby back and forth, talking in baby-talk.

"Ohhh, aren't you just the most precious little thing Tsuru? Yes you are. Yes you are." Tsuru cooed happily and began tugging on Temari's headband. "I'm your aunt Temari sweetie, ooh I could just eat you all up." Temari blew a raspberry on the baby's stomach, causing the baby to smile.

Naruto grinned at Temari. He had been nervous about their reactions and had been in a defensive pose, ready to snatch Tsuru at the slightest show of aggression.

Kankuro walked in next and the baby's eyes widened when she saw him. Kankuro leaned down to inspect the infant and she grabbed his cheek, trying to grab the purple war paint on his face. She ended poking him in the eye with her little fingers. Kankuro growled and backed away hurriedly, rubbing his eye with his hand.

Temari and Naruto were chuckling as the baby reached out for Kankuro.

"Here," said Temari handing the baby to Kankuro, "Hold her for a sec, I'm gonna go see if Yugure is alright."

"Hey Temari! C'mon I don't know how to hold this thing!" Kankuro protested as she walked out the door.

Naruto snorted, "Here it's easy! If I can do it, even an idiot like you can do it!"

"Who are you calling an idiot? Idiot!" Grumbled Kankuro as Naruto adjusted the baby in his arms.

Temari entered the empty hospital room, she could still hear the showerhead going as she raised her hand to knock on the door, listening to Yugure sobbing. She hesitated for a moment before knocking.

"Yugure?" She called tentatively.

Yugure wiped her tears away, and called out in a tremulous voice. "I'll be out in a minute."

Temari walked out of the room and waited. Five minutes later Yugure walked out, dressed in clean clothes. Her eyes were red from crying and she was pulling a brush through her wet hair as she followed Temari back towards her-no-their niece's room. She took her niece from Kankuro, and gave the baby a watery smile.

"Hi Tsuru." She said, taking a deep breath to compose herself. "I'm your aunt Yugure. The baby turned her pale green eyes on this new person in her life. "She's a beautiful little girl." She said to Shizune, "Thank you for-" she seemed to lose the ability to talk suddenly and sat down rocking Tsuru, with tears streaming down her face.

"If it wasn't for Naruto, I'm not sure what would have happened." Said Shizune, indicating the blonde man standing awkwardly next to her.

"You delivered her?" Asked Yugure. Naruto nodded. She got up and kissed Naruto on the cheek.

"Thank you." She whispered as Naruto turned beet red. Yugure stopped crying then. "I have to explain to the Mizukage my belief for the deception between Gaara and my sister." Since Gaara was Kazekage anyways, he would simply have to send a report to Baki who was tending his position back in Sand.

Yugure walked into her hotel room. They were all exhausted and elected to stay in Leaf for a few days. Tsuru began to cry, she rocked the baby girl back in forth as tears continued to spill down her cheeks. She took several deep calming breaths so the baby wouldn't pick up on her stress levels. The baby's chakra levels were incredibly high, as could be expected from a half-demon. She put Tsuru down and began making her a bottle of formula when she heard a knock on the door. She grabbed several kunai and peered out the window. Temari and Shizune were standing outside their door. "Yes?"

Shizune smiled, "Here's the crib for Tsuru, some baby bottles, diapers and formula donated from the hospital."

"Thank you, that's very kind." Said Yugure, Temari looked at Yugure, "I'd like to help you out with her and get to know my niece."

The other woman nodded and let her in. In five minutes the two kunoichi had set up the bed, while Shizune was holding Tsuru.

"Oh my!" Said Shizune, as the baby manipulated a large gust of wind.

Temari smirked, "That's gotta be some of my natural talent right there! She could be a mistress of fans like yours truly."

"Fans?" Smirked Yugure in mock horror! "No way! She's gonna be learning how to master swords!"

"Pfft! But swords are so old fashioned! Anyways you can't knock an opponent that's fifty feet away with a sword." Countered Temari confidently.

Yugure laughed, "Well then we'll just have to spar sometimes Temari and you'll find out." Temari smirked at that.

"Knock knock!" Called Kankuro.

Shizune laughed as Temari picked Tsuru up and began feeding the infant. Temari grinned. Yugure was the sister she'd never had. She remembered asking her mother for a little sister when she first out she was pregnant with Gaara. Now that she thought about it, she was glad that Gaara had been a boy. There probably wouldn't be a Hidden Sand village the first time Gaara got PMS. She giggled at the thought.

"She's so cute!" Said Temari nuzzling Tsuru.

Kankuro sighed. "Eh I'm glad I'm not a woman, taking care of a baby and all that well-" Before he could finish Yugure and Temari had flashed grins at each other.

"Say Kankuro, I need to work off some stress later on this evening."

"Really?" Said Kankuro lost in those green-gold eyes of hers and momentarily forgetting she was Gaara's.

"Yup, so you'll watch her while we go spar okay Kanky?" Chirped Temari sweetly.

Kankuro groaned as Gaara wandered in. He had finished sending off the report to Baki and he was…curious about his daughter. The one he had been tricked into making. His eyes looked up at the two women, asking them a silent question.

Temari brought the drowsy infant to her brother's side. Gaara looked down, he'd never been this nervous in his life as his sister passed the tiny baby into his arms, gently forming them in a cradling position and showing him how to hold the bottle. He stared down at her tiny face which was a mirror image of his own. Her aqua green eyes were closing shut. The baby in his arms evoked such a fierce protectiveness it threatened to overwhelm him. The tiny little body gave him a strange new feeling in his heart. He was afraid of this baby. Afraid that he would screw her life up, afraid that this innocent new life would suffer the same cruelties he had suffered. As if sensing her father's anxieties, the infant snuggled deeper in Gaara's uncertain arms as if to reassure him. Gaara looked up at the women as if asking them what to do. They both gave him their biggest grins.

"_Humph! That's not very helpful!" _He thought agitatedly. He walked to the crib and tenderly placed her in it, pulling the covers up to protect her from the spring chill.

Temari and Yugure exchanged smirks with each other. Gaara looked at Yugure. They both knew that living arrangements would have to be made for Tsuru. But for now they would relax and unwind. The shinobi relaxed for most of the day, eating, catching naps and playing with Tsuru.

The Fifth Hokage had sent a team of Chunin to take Yugure's scroll, as well as her report to the Mizukage.


	6. Water and Wind

**Chapter Six**

**Wind vs. Water**

Gaara walked to the girls' hotel room just as the sun was beginning to sink. Kankuro was trying to keep Tsuru from grabbing at the bright purple tattoos on his face as she was jabbing him with her sharp little nails and had even managed to shove her finger up his nose. After getting everything set up, Kankuro sniffed.

"Ewww. What's that awful smell?" He wrinkled his nose and quickly passed her to his brother. "I think she needs to have her diaper changed."

"Well change her diaper!" Gaara growled, grimacing in distaste.

"Sorry bro, but you made her you change her."

Gaara shot a murderous glare at Kankuro who ignored him. He sighed gustily and resigned himself to the unpleasant task of diaper changing. Besides, he was the Kazekage. This couldn't be hard.

Kankuro pinched his nose and smirked at the look on his brother's face as he began wiping the infant clean, rediapered her and carried the offending diaper to the trash can.

Temari and Yugure walked towards the river, and got into battle positions, Temari quickly calculated the distance and then made her move starting off with a wind scythe jutsu. Yugure melted into a puddle of water.

"Water clone." Temari grumbled to herself as Yugure jumped on her from the river and Temari quickly leaped into a nearby tree. Yugure used the water to try and wrap Temari into a water prison, but Temari deflected it by creating a powerful stream of air. Yugure barely had time to get out of the way as her own water prison came streaming back towards her. She did a back flip and sent her Katanas right into the stream, sucking up the water as if they were sponges instead of swords.

Tsuru had been fed and Kankuro was busy drawing bath water. Gaara gently placed his daughter into the bath and began to pour water over her hair. The baby coughed, sputtered and then sneezed. He began washing her hair and the baby grinned at him. He felt his heart melt and playfully splashed her.

Kankuro walked in as his niece made an exploratory splash of her own. What should have been a regular splash of water left both men and the bathroom soaked. She had splashed all the water out of the tub. Kankuro readied himself to grab Tsuru and run.

Deep down inside he was nervous about leaving the infant on her own under her father's care for very long. Gaara grimaced and picked her up, he was sopping wet and really irritated. But he kept that irritation under strict control. He did not want to hurt his daughter, not ever! So he took several calming breaths to get back under control.

Kankuro took her gently and Gaara growled!

"She's my daughter Kankuro I can handle it!"

"Yeah, but I'm closer to the door, there's less chance of me slipping." Kankuro said nonchalantly, trying to placate his brother. Gaara snorted and said no more as his brother took the infant to the bed and began to get her dressed.

Yugure whipped her swords around as Temari set out a jet of wind, the wind froze into ice and shattered on the ground where it dropped. Temari never lost her cool and sent a powerful gust that made Yugure lift off the ground. She twisted her body painfully and dug her Katanas into the ground to slow herself down. She stood up then and began making rapid hand signs, and it suddenly dawned on Temari that she had not been making hand signs for the first part of the battle! She readied herself for whatever it was that the other woman was going to do. Her mind began racing rapidly trying to figure it out. Then she understood. Yugure's blades had never stopped moving! She was forming signs and channeling the chakra through her blades! She had definitely found a match in Yugure. Temari glared when an unusually heavy mist quickly began obscuring her vision.

"Shit!" She cursed quietly, straining her ears for the slightest sound, she was slammed hard into the ground and then she got up and kicked hard. The sharp intake of breath told her she'd hit Yugure. Then she leapt up and blew the mist out of the way, but it was such a thick mist that she didn't get all of it. But now she could see her opponent.

Yugure charged and Temari's fan deflected them. They were both panting hard as Yugure once again disappeared into the mist. Temari waited and listened. She grinned as she silently followed her opponent into the mist, she swung her fan around and a water clone dissolved. Yugure crossed her swords by Temari's throat and growled when she realized it was a substitution jutsu.

"Nice." She said smiling, then she began performing hand signs on the water. "Water style! Water dragon jutsu!"

"Wind style! Weasel blade jutsu!" The dragon and weasel raced towards each other and collided. Sending a powerful gush of water and wind that knocked both girls ten feet in the air. They both sat staring at each other, panting heavily as the mist finally cleared. They were completely soaked.

"We need to have a rematch!" Grinned Temari. "C'mon let's go take a hot shower, I'm freezing!"

Temari and Yugure walked towards the hotel.

Gaara and Kankuro spun around as their soaking wet sister walked into the bathroom.

Kankuro opened his mouth to say something. "Uh Temari-" he was suddenly cut off by her loud yell as her foot slipped on the sopping wet bathroom floor and she landed flat on her back. She picked herself up, noticing the water everywhere, she spun around and screeched.

"What the hell have you two been doing in here? Why is the bathroom all wet?"

Yugure burst through the door after hearing Temari screech.

In silence Gaara and Kankuro both pointed at Tsuru, who was fast asleep in the crib.

"She seems to be…adept at water style jutsu. She created a tidal wave." Gaara explained. He couldn't help but be disappointed at this. He was hoping that his daughter would take after him in jutsu.

"She can use wind and water style jutsus?" Asked Yugure, "Righteous!"

"Says you!" Temari retorted irritably, "you didn't just slip and fall in a miniature--flood!"

"Ohhhh look at the time! Glad you girls had fun but we gotta go!"

"Not so fast!" Growled Temari, grabbing Kankuro by his ears with uncanny accuracy. "You gotta clean up this mess. Hurry up! We're freezing!"

Gaara had already made a hasty departure. Kankuro grumbled the entire time he dried off the floor and waited while they took their showers. He wanted to hear how their sparring match had gone.

"So? Who won?" He asked.

They glared at each other. "It was a tie." Said Temari irritably.

"Yeah."

"Why are you both wet?" Asked Kankuro, vaguely aware that the question sounded perverted the moment it escaped his lips. Yugure's lips twitched momentarily and Kankuro gave her a quick grin before settling down to hear about their sparring match. After Kankuro left, both girls settled down for the night but neither could sleep. It had been an emotional and stressful day for all of them. No sooner had Temari's eyes shut when Tsuru started wailing for her bottle. She groaned and rolled over in her bed, clapping the pillow over her ears as she listened to Yugure get up and make the baby a bottle. It would have taken an eternity to get the bottle cool enough if she hadn't cooled it off. Finally all that could be heard was Tsuru's content suckling. Being an aunt was tough work, Temari reflected as she and Yugure took turns during the night to feed, burp, rock and change Tsuru. Both women were exhausted in the morning.

"Gaara hardly ever sleeps. We should have asked him." Temari said.

The other woman shrugged. "I know but….well you guys will probably be taking her to Suna and I just want to spend as time as possible with her. She's all I have left of my family now."

Temari grinned. "You're always welcome to come visit her-us! You're family now too."

Yugure smiled at Temari, "Thanks Temari." She said cuddling Tsuru to her cheek.


	7. The Ambush!

**Chapter Seven**

**The Ambush**

Gaara was still mulling over the nearly identical parallels between him and his daughter. Someone had wanted demonic offspring for the sake of power. A woman had died giving birth to an innocent life, she was half demon with an estranged Kazekage father. All because of a demon named Shukaku! At least this child wasn't hated. He thought to himself, she had the adoration of several people, her own family included. He was still undecided as to what to do with Tsuru exactly. If the people of Suna had hated him, as the jinchuuriki what would they think of a half-demon child?

They would destroy her! Hate her! Suddenly Yugure walked in carrying the infant. She gently positioned his daughter in his arms and handed him the bottle.

"I have to go home now Gaara. We'll keep in touch."

The answer to his problem hit him as he watched his lover walk out the door.

"Yugure, wait!" He called out. I'm going to be sending a messenger out to the Mizukage asking you to escort us back to Suna."

Yugure's face brightened considerably. She sat down and Gaara put Yugure in her crib. The Sand Siblings were just waiting for transportation back home. He held her face close to his and whispered.

"It's been too long since I've had you underneath me begging me for mercy hasn't it?"

She laughed softly, "Damn right it has! If mercy's what you want to call it." He smiled slightly and the two kissed, her soft moan making him so hard he wanted to rip off her clothed right then and there.

"Hey Gaara! Our transportation'll be here tomorrow after-" Kankuro stopped mid-sentence when he opened the door. The look Gaara gave him was enough to melt snow right off a mountain. Gaara gave a warning growl. The moment was ruined and Kankuro beat a hasty retreat.

"Well," Said Yugure looking sour and put off, "I guess we'd better go pack." She walked out of the room with a huff of frustration leaving Gaara alone with his daughter.

Gaara frowned. He had been meaning to ask Yugure to take in Tsuru, but now that he thought about it how could he ask such a thing? Did he want to be his distant father all over again? That thought alone made his resolve stronger then ever! He wanted so badly to be a good father and Yugure could visit her. But he somehow didn't feel right with her out of the picture most of the time. But what could he do? He looked out at the village and saw one leaf ninja get down on his knees in front of a woman, he held out something and the sun glinted off the gold ring in a black velvety box! Marriage! He was the Kazekage! He did need a wife! He could order it if he wanted too! Besides, Yugure was a strong woman and one that he had the advantage of knowing already. She didn't fear him either and she would make a good mother to Tsuru.

He started to walk out when Temari walked in.

"Err Gaara, where are you going?" Asked Temari with a frown and nodding towards Tsuru. Gaara went red for a second at such an obvious mistake.

"I'm going to order Tsuru to marry me." He told Temari. Temari blinked owlishly.

"Gaara, we live in the modern world, you can't just order someone to marry you." She pointed out reasonably. Gaara pouted and Temari's lips twitched. "You have to ask her to marry you. Plus she couldn't live with us all the time she's a Waterfall Shinobi. You want a live-in wife, either ask a-ask someone who's not a shinobi." She quickly amended. She had almost said ask a local girl, but she knew that no one at home would marry her brother. Gaara caught her mistake and looked away. It was almost as though Temari had read his mind.

His sister was right though, Yugure being a shinobi from another village would only be able to be with them part-time. He sighed and sat down next to the crib where Tsuru's lips were moving as though she were still drinking from the bottle. The baby then cracked her eye open stealthily and when she noticed that her actions had not yet gotten her fed, she opened her eyes and pouted.

Temari burst into laughter and went to fetch Tsuru her bottle.

"She looked just like you when she pouted." Temari pointed out, handing the bottle to her brother.

Gaara scowled, "I do not pout!" He retorted angrily. Temari only laughed harder at the both of them when Tsuru scowled too, a perfect miniature of her baby brother. Gaara popped the bottle in his daughter's mouth and gave Temari the silent treatment watching as Tsuru fell asleep in his arms.

Gaara went into Yugure's hotel room when Tsuru was asleep in her crib d taken over. She hung something up on the door and locked it. Ripping off her clothes and taking off his. They stood there, bare skin on bare skin and Gaara moaned softly. Shivers crept up and down his spine, and he felt himself getting rock hard at the sight of her toned body pressing up against his. Her breasts were pressed against his chest as he lay her down, and nuzzled her neck. She licked his ear, her hot breath made him dig his fingers in her back, and they started kissing, tongues exploring slowly, and their hands were stroking each other's bodies. Gaara gasped as she stroked his red hair, he loved having his hair stroked, and he loved it when she wrapped both legs around him, teasing his hard cock by rubbing it right at her wet entrance. Gods this woman drove him wild!

He reached down and began stroking her clit with one finger, making her arch against him, and her chakra infused hand strayed down to his cock and began fondling it. The pleasure that skittered down his skin made him bite his lip so hard when he slipped into her he drew blood and the two began a frantic pace as he grabbed the back of her neck roughly and she began sliding on and off of him, teasing him sometimes when she almost caused him to pull out so slowly, then slamming back down onto him.

They moaned in each other's ears. She pulled him off of her and showed him how to eat her out. He began licking her clit and gathering a little bit of chakra on his tongue he sent it spiraling down to her g-spot at the same time, making her buck her hips wildly as he crouched over her and clenched the pillow hard as she took him into her mouth and began rocking her head back and forth. Gaara felt sheer bliss as she did this and he enjoyed giving her the same kind of pleasure back.

But he had to be inside her right now so he slammed her against the wall. His growls and sighs making her shudder as she lifted one slender leg and wrapped it around his waist right as he slid inside her. They both moaned as he took complete control grabbing her hips and almost lifting her off the ground with his powerful thrusts she squeezed him tightly and braced herself against the wall for support, wrapping her other leg around him, so that he was now holding her. He carried her back to the bed, and was surprised when she laughingly flipped him over on his back and began grinding hard into him. Her breasts hanging temptingly in his face like forbidden fruit.

He took them into her mouth and nibbled on them as she rocked back and forth, her hair hanging down like a sheet of water around his face. They started kissing again, their tongues entwined in a sinuous dance and she tasted herself on his tongue. She began grinding harder and harder their bodies were in perfect sync as they held each other closely and with a great roar he came deep inside her.

Panting heavily he felt her orgasm at the same time, washing over his cock in pleasurable waves. The two shinobi lay down and looked outside, the sun was sinking low in the sky, so they had been at this for a long time. After holding each other for a while they got into the shower and got dressed. Fortunately the Waterfall Village wasn't far from the Leaf and Yugure already had the green light to escort the Kazekage and his family back to Sand.

Naruto wanted to go with them and Tsunade had given her consent for Naruto and Neji to accompany them. The next day their transportation had arrived. Gaara and Tsuru had been settled into it, much to Gaara's chagrin and the others walked beside it, each keeping a lookout. They traveled long into the day, each taking their turn with Tsuru in the seat.

Sometime around midnight, Neji stiffened and whispered. "There's an ambush up ahead in those trees over there. No less then twenty rogue ninja with an iron cage and chains, from Rain and Mist."

Naruto and Gaara both looked at each other, identical expressions on their faces! The thought of keeping a precious infant like Tsuru in an iron cage brought out the beast in both men.

Neji and Kankuro were driving and both looked ready to take Tsuru and make a mad dash for it.

Naruto's eyes were that vivid red, Gaara's eyes had changed to that penetrating yellow and both men charged.

Temari and Yugure got ready to fight as Kankuro and Crow followed Neji into the underbrush, taking Tsuru far from the jinchuuriki rage!

The rogue ninja howled with shock as both men went straight into their midst. The Rain ninja's clones disappeared but kept on coming. Gaara tearing into them with terrifying ferocity. Naruto was engaged in a battle with a rogue Mist ninja, a thick mist started forming and Yugure swiftly dispelled the Hidden Mist jutsu and began a swift watery dance with the offender. Temari cursed when she got caught in a Water Prison in a large puddle on the ground. Half the rogue ninja were trying desperately to ward off Gaara and Naruto, although two were already dead. Gaara used Sand Coffin and cursed when he realized they were just water clones. Naruto snarled and conjured up multi shadow clones of his own and sent them after the Rain's clones.

The real Rain ninja had already caught up with Neji and Kankuro. Neji had used rotation to keep the flying senbon needles and ended up spearing two more Rain ninja, Kankuro had employed Crow to try and poison one of the others, but it turned out to be a substitution jutsu. Neji took down the last ninja by hitting their chakra points.

Naruto had knocked out three of the Mist ninja, but then got trapped under the avalanche that ensued.

"Release!" Yugure had performed a series of hand signs to release Temari from her prison and together the two performed their jutsus at exactly the same time on opposite ends of each other. "Wind style! Kamaitachi no jutsu!"

"Water style! Twin water dragon jutsu!" The combined force blew the remaining ninja sky high and their clones vanished under the sheer velocity.

Gaara and Naruto had been knocked out by the force and both women picked them up then ran to track down their comrades. Neji and Kankuro helped them hoist both men into the vehicle and Temari and Kankuro awakened Gaara. He coughed and spluttered as he and Naruto came too, their eyes had changed back into their normal colors.

"Let's get out of here." Said Neji, and the group hurried on their way.


	8. The Desert

**Chapter Eight**

**The Desert**

"Stop driving so fast! You could hurt the baby!" Neji commanded glaring at an annoyed Kankuro.

"I will not! Look she's just fine!"

Neji glared at Kankuro. "This long grass could be covering gopher holes or traps slow down!" He retorted.

"What the hell do you know?" Kankuro snapped back.

"I've been taking care of her longer then you have." He said smugly.

"So what? I was out on a dangerous mission." Kankuro said with a smirk.

"Give me the reins idiot!" Demanded Neji trying to wrest the horse's reins from the sand nin's grip.

"Stop it!" Kankuro growled pounding Neji on the head.

"Man Hyuga, have you always had such a big stick up your---ahhhh!"

Temari had stopped the confused and irritated mare and whacked her brother and Neji on the head with her fan. Needless to say, Neji and Kankuro didn't get along.

"Will you two cut it out!" She growled menacingly. "The way you two are acting, you'll both have this carriage dumped over." Both men rubbed their heads at the same time and glared at Temari as she impatiently pushed them both off. Well she pushed her brother off, Neji got off voluntarily to save himself some dignity, as Temari deftly took the reins. "You two act like a couple of little kids!" She muttered angrily.

They were almost to the desert by the next morning when Neji asked the question that everyone else had been avoiding.

"When we get to the desert will she transform?" He wondered. Gaara stiffened and took a deep breath to keep from murdering Neji who was busy feeding Tsuru.

"I don't know." He said. Gaara had been a nervous wreck ever since the ambush and also because he had been trying to work up the nerve to ask Yugure to marry him. He knew he didn't want to ask her with everyone there. He closed his eyes and saw Shukaku's ugly mug staring down at him. Gaara twitched as he felt the tanuki take over just enough to look at his daughter.

"Interesting abilities she has." He remarked idly. "Water, wind, sand…"

Gaara growled in warning, causing everyone else to tense. "Leave her alone Shukaku."

Neji was visibly spooked, he took it upon himself to remove the crying infant.

Shukaku wasn't finished. "You love this woman Gaara?" He asked derisively.

Gaara flinched, he hadn't realized that he loved Yugure until the tanuki mentioned it. He grabbed his head and put it between his knees, it felt like Shukaku was battering his skull.

Neji looked ready to take Tsuru all the way back to the Leaf Village at that point.

"Yes, love her Gaara, until the time comes when you rip her apart and smell her blood in your nostrils and taste it running thickly down your throat." The tanuki let out a demonic laugh and Gaara saw endless images of Yugure ripped to shreds.

"Unhhhh" He moaned, trying to fight back the bloodlust and the vomit. They were now in the desert and the sun was higher in the sky.

"Noo! Shukaku! Leave them alone! I won't let you harm either of them!"

Shukaku roared "Let? Let? I am the one who lets or does not let you pathetic human! How dare you assume that I would harm my own offspring!" He began an inward attack and Gaara let out a half agonized screech, half enraged snarl.

"Yugure!" He roared, "Take Tsuru to the waterfall village. I'll send for her when it's safe! GO NOW!!"

Kyuubi had emerged now and was eyeing Gaara with cool disgust. Seeing the chance to spread discord, even though she knew that Shukaku had never harmed any offspring of his, she leapt into action and whispered to her vessel. "The Sand Tanuki lies."

Naruto blinked, "Huh? About what?"

"Trust me I've seen him rip apart his own offspring and devour them whole, this child wouldn't even make an appetizer." She said casually as though it didn't matter to her what he did.

Naruto yelled to nobody in particular, "Whaddaya mean he eats his own offspring?!?!"

Shukaku roared out of Gaara's mouth then, "How dare you Kyuubi?! You lie!"

Then the half-transformed Gaara roared. "Come back here with my offspring!"

Kyuubi yawned as though she were bored. "Shukaku will catch them in the desert kit and you will all die." Kyuubi felt the boy opening to her in his panic, she smiled a devious smile and the now half-transformed Naruto rushed at Gaara. Using his shoulder he slammed into his best friend and Gaara rolled over and over in the sands. He pounced quickly and the two began scuffling. Naruto found himself caught in Gaara's Sand Coffin jutsu, and he struggled to break free. A surge of blazing red chakra blasted the sand resulting in a sand storm that swept through the desert ferociously.

"Gaara! You have to get control of yourself!" Naruto yelled, "For Tsuru's sake!"

Shukaku snarled, "I will not hurt my offspring, the Kyuubi lies!" He tried to race past Naruto but was blocked yet again.

Trying to cross the soft desert sands were difficult for them, so they only really got about ten feet away when they were blasted by the demons' chakra. Yugure and Neji stood close to each other, to protect Tsuru from the twin blasts. Yugure looked at Gaara with helpless eyes, she had really started to care about him. She was torn between taking her niece to safety and staying with both men. Tsuru let out a cry and without bothering to interpret that cry she sprang into action. Neji suddenly hissed under his breath, she looked down to see Tsuru clawing him, trying to get away from him and towards the jinchuuriki. She was now transformed, and interestingly, she looked nothing like Shukaku and more like a living stuffed toy.

Her loud cry halted both jinchuuriki. The baby raised her fat, furry paws and slammed them into the ground. Sand, mud and water flew everywhere and like a sudden deluge, buried both Gaara and Naruto.

Everyone waited with bated breath and after an eternity, both men clawed to the top, gasping and coughing.

"Wow!" Hacked Naruto thumping sand out of his ears, the same way one would thump water out of their ears after a brisk swim. "That's some jutsu!" Gaara groaned and lay there trying to regain his breath. Shukaku whistled admiringly. "_Interesting_…" thought Gaara "H_e never admired anything but himself. _

"Well, now I've got solid proof." Said Kankuro shakily.

"Oh yeah, what's that?" Said Naruto gasping hard, with his arm flung over his face, looking less like a shinobi and more like he was lounging by the pool.

"With all that sand you're thumping out kid, it proves you have nothing but empty space between your ears."

Naruto sat and glared at the puppet master. "Shut up!" He snapped angrily before flopping back down on the wet sand. They all laughed, it broke the tension up a bit. Tsuru was exhausted and had fallen fast asleep.

Even Gaara let out a choked sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter to Naruto.

"Humph!" He grumbled taking a turn with Tsuru and singing to the child in a creaky-out-of-tune voice. For once Gaara wished he could get drunk, so that he could pass out and not have to listen to his best friend, whom he felt like murdering and hugging all at the same time.

"You lost the child?" The masked ninja snarled angrily, grabbing the other man's throat.

Yagi pried the masked ninja's hand away from him. "The sand demon and the nine tails were guarding her!" He retorted, rubbing his sore throat and glowering angrily.

"Get that damn demon Yagi!"

Yagi's eye twitched. The idea of raising a half-demon child as a weapon did not sit well with him, it was difficult enough with unstable jinchuuriki! But a half-demon was the next worst thing to a full-blooded Bijuu!


	9. Suna's Betrayal Begins

**Chapter Nine **

**Suna's Betrayal Begins**

One of Suna's high council listened intently to the ninja's offer. The one blessing of using their ninja as Shukaku's jinchuuriki (and a dubious blessing at that) was that no one wanted to get close enough to his vessels to successfully have children, though this vessel seemed to be breaking all the rules of his predecessors.

He was more then tempted to get rid of Gaara's demon child, but should the young Kazekage find out…the councilmen shuddered horribly at the thought of the jinchuuriki's wrath. He would have to think about it. He had two days to do just that and he had to make his decision quickly without the council. It would be best to act alone. He did not want to give the Shukaku's vessel a reason for a bloodbath, but he had no idea what the demon-child was capable of, or what kind of damage it would undoubtedly wreak on Suna.

The unknown ninja waited patiently for the councilmen's answer. The old man seemed to be wrestling with himself for a long time and Yagi understood perfectly. He too had been against making and raising a half-Bijuu child especially from such a violent demon. Of course only one other person knew the entirety of this plan. He had earnestly tried to get Yugure to see the wisdom of destroying the baby before it was too late. That had been no act on his part, but that stupid's girl's loyalty to her family and his half-brother's lust for power was probably going to destroy them all.

He had been struggling with himself as well. Part of him was appalled at the idea of murdering an infant, another part did not like the idea of going against his half-brother's wishes, but it had to come down to the greater good, he was going to destroy the child himself no matter his brother's wrath.

Finally the councilman came to his decision, "It would be better if the Shukaku's spawn were killed early on. But this is on the condition that my involvement in your scheme is non-existent, whether or not you fail in your mission. It is for the good of everyone to destroy this evil bane!"

Yagi whole-heartedly agreed and the Waterfall ninja sped off to meet his companions at the rendezvous point. He would carry out his mission to rid themselves of the demon-child alone. Those rogue ninja under his brother's employ were incredibly power-hungry and he knew that he would get no help from that cold-hearted lot! His plan had been set into motion.

Two days later the group of ninja arrived at Suna's gates. They were dusty, tired and thirsty. Gaara immediately assumed the mantle of Kazekage upon entering the village. After he had set them up with their own rooms to rest from the grueling trek across the desert, Gaara hired some designers to set up Tsuru's room. Unlike his room which had been more like a dark, cheerless room in some insane asylum, her room would be bright and cheerful. Things which Gaara personally knew nothing about, but was determined to make none-the-less.

Yugure and the others would rest at Suna for a few days before returning back to their homes with Kankuro as their guides. Gaara knew he had to propose to Yugure before then. But for now, Tsuru was his first concern. He had formula, diapers, clothes, toys and other necessities delivered to the Kazekage's grand house. The room was furnished in a day with everything an infant could need. After that business was done and Tsuru was sleeping soundly in her crib, Gaara then had to file paperwork for an inter-country family. Something required of shinobi.

**(A/N; I have no idea if it's true or not, but damn it sounds good and makes sense!)**

He also had a marriage contract out, just in case she accepted his proposal. Fortunately there was very little paperwork left for him to do and Gaara was secretly, eternally grateful to Baki. It was a tedious task, one that every Kage loathed and Gaara had been more and more tempted to hire somebody to do it for him.

The proposal. Every time he even thought about it his palms (much to his dismay) started sweating profusely. He demanded that Temari be brought in immediately from the kitchen so he could ask her for advice and to pick out a ring with which to propose, as he remembered the Konoha ninja doing. Would he have to get down on his knees? He wondered. Hmm. He was the Kazekage, the most powerful ninja in Suna. It was a ridiculous idea and he refused to do it! But at the same time he would feel….awkward while standing up. He wasn't the romantic type, so taking a moonlit walk was out of the question especially as it was supposed to be a full moon soon as Temari suggested before she went shopping for the ring

He gave a small sigh and with his sand picked up the hot mug of soup that had been left for him by his sister, and then smiled. That was how he would propose. He would invite her for dinner and give her the ring with his sand. They would both be sitting down which would take some of the awkward strain off of him.

He heard the infant whimper and he stood up to go and see what she wanted. Kankuro was asleep in the room, but the moment he entered his eyes snapped open, he yawned, stretched and much to Gaara's silent disgust, scratched his ass while ignoring his little brother's scowl.

"Sorry little bro." He said. "Musta dozed off." Gaara huffed in irritation and picked up Tsuru, he looked at his daughter, Kankuro grinned at him.

"What?" Gaara asked a warning growl in his voice.

"She looks just like you when you were a baby." Gaara turned away from him angrily.

"I wouldn't really know." Kankuro picked up a dusty rust-colored book that he hadn't noticed before and opened it.

In spite of himself Gaara walked over cradling Tsuru in his arm while she snuggled against him happily. There was Temari holding him awkwardly, same round face, same green eyes but without the black rings, same pale skin, same silky hair, except hers was a deep perfect black, while his a blood-red. Kankuro put the book down and before Gaara could even blink took out a camera and snapped a picture for the new, gleaming green family picture album in Temari's arms. Naruto walked in and Gaara silently fuming and deeply uncomfortable though you'd never know it stood still for the pictures.

Naruto slung an arm around him, the other hand tickling Tsuru, who was being held by Temari. Then one with all three of them and Tsuru as well. Gaara gazed at the pictures that had developed and were being put in the photo album. He was scowling in the pictures too, he couldn't help but notice with some small satisfaction.

He fingered the ring that he planned to propose to Yugure with and he felt very nervous. What if she said no? What if she didn't feel the same way? What if she didn't like him at all? What about the full moon coming out tomorrow night? What if he turned into Shukaku and she got ripped apart? All these questions filtered through his mind, making the sleepless night even worse then ever for the young Kazekage.

The sentry at Suna's gates stopped an old ninja with a Waterfall headband. "State your business in Suna." The guard growled.

"I am Yagi from the Waterfall village and I'm here for Yugure Maruyama who came here as part of an escort for the Kazekage and his daughter with some ninja from Konoha." He said, passing a scroll to the guard, they waved him in.


	10. Death's Doorstep

**Chapter Ten**

**Death's Doorstep**

_Three Hours Later_

Yagi began pacing. But he had to do it quickly. He had to get rid of Yugure in order to get rid of the demon brat! He wouldn't attempt to get rid of the Kazekage. He was too powerful! He was also deeply bothered by the idea of killing another Waterfall shinobi. For a Waterfall nin's loyalty to the village was nearly as strong as Leaf's.

"I told you. I warned you to kill that demon brat! But you wouldn't listen to me Yugure! You just wouldn't!"

Yugure's eyes narrowed with disgust as she wrenched free of the gag, despite the fact that both of her arms were broken.

"You bastard!" She growled angrily, "She's just a baby! How dare you condemn her for circumstances beyond her control?!"

He sighed, running his hand through his hair, clearly agitated. "I don't want to do this! But leaving her alive will endanger everyone! Not just Waterfall! Don't you understand?" He asked "Or are you so blinded by family that you can't see her for what she truly is?"

Yugure spat, "Are you so blinded by hatred that you can't see she's just a child?! With love, care and happiness she could turn out just as normal as you or me!"

But the thing of it was, Yugure and Yagi understood each other perfectly. As a shinobi she understood human instinct all too well. As a man with several grandkids, he understood where she was coming from. But neither were willing to back down.

"This is not a jinchuuriki we're talking about Yugure! This is a half- demon! You're a fool! I'll let you go if you help me capture and kill the demon brat." Yagi offered desperately.

Yugure told him in a cold voice, "Never! I'll see you in hell before I kill my own niece Yagi!" She smiled viciously at him. Yugure was rewarded by a heavy kick to the face, shattering her lower jaw. She couldn't even scream as Yagi's blade rushed towards her.

Yagi grimaced as he left Yugure's body. Step One had been accomplished. Step Two would soon commence. He would help to steal the Kazekage's demon child, but as soon as they were out of imminent danger, he would kill it quickly.

Gaara was upset. Yugure had had to leave before he even got a chance to propose to her. He paced in agitation jiggling the increasingly upset Tsuru, who only wanted Yugure. No one else would do for her except Yugure and the infant's wails only served to distress him more. Shukaku was surprisingly subdued the entire time, never saying a word against either of them.

Yugure groaned she had shifted ever so slightly, fast enough so that Yagi wouldn't see and just enough to make him think she was dying. It had been a close call! That bastard had nearly hit her heart! But with her arms broken and her legs bound, she still faced the very real danger of bleeding to death. Despair began to creep in. Why bother prolonging her death if she was useless? But she already knew the answer to that. She was a shinobi! Self-preservation was deeply ingrained in her psyche. But this time she truly was on Death's Doorstep and there wasn't much she could do to break out of her bonds. That bastard had made sure of that!

"You're late Yagi." His brother said irritably.

Yagi bowed in apology. "I'm sorry brother, but I have completed the first task you set for me. The kunoichi is dead."

His brother nodded thoughtfully, "That is good…very good brother."

Yagi stumbled back to Suna begging entrance. He had been beaten severely. After his wounds were treated he was brought before the Kazekage.

Gaara frowned at him, "Where is Yugure?" He asked coldly.

"We came upon some rogue ninja Lord Kazekage. It seems we stumbled into their hiding place." Said Yagi regretfully, "We fought them off as best we could, but we were outnumbered and outclassed. Yugure Maruyama was killed in battle."

Temari frowned, something didn't feel right. She shifted in her seat, her teal eyes boring into Yagi. Gaara felt it too but he waited patiently.

"He's come to kill our offspring." Shukaku whispered in Gaara's ear, bristling and filled with a protective, animalistic rage that he had never felt coming from the violent tanuki before.

Gaara's face was passive. "I see." He said simply, his blank gaze making Yagi squirm inside. "Temari, escort our _guest _to a comfortable room for the night." Gaara stressed the word guest ever slightly, telling Temari to keep an eye out. Temari and Yagi walked silently to the room. When the blonde haired kunoichi left, Yagi took out a small mirror, catching it in the moonlight to signal his cohorts that it was almost time.

They came silently into the night and as if on cue Tsuru began whimpering in her room, leading the group right to her. They crept in silently and frowned, something felt very wrong. It was all going too easily. The light clicked on.

Kankuro smirked, "Surprise!" The rogue ninja were all eliminated by Kankuro and the Leaf ninjas, Yagi escaped swiftly.

He was waiting for him. Yagi was facing a terror he had never hoped to face in his long years as a shinobi. An enraged jinchuuriki. Gaara wrapped Shukaku's massive claw around the old ninja's throat. "You think we are so stupid that we can't see what you're up too!" The Kazekage licked his lips as a trickle of blood ran down Yagi's throat.

Yagi felt that bloodlust. The jinchuuriki was eyeing him in the same predatory fashion of a panther that'd just caught its prey. "You're going to start giving answers and I wouldn't lie if I were you." Gaara panted heavily struggling to keep Shukaku from killing him. "He knows when you're lying." The thick drool that came out of the half-transformed man's gaping jaws was enough to make Yagi piss himself and he found himself being slammed against a wall!

Gaara was angry now. "You call yourself a shinobi? Pathetic!" He snarled.

Yagi frowned, if he talked now….he couldn't close his eyes, watching with horror as the Kazekage demonstrated what would happen to him on a heavy boulder. The way that the Sand Burial destroyed that boulder with such ease made Yagi start babbling in terror. He realized he was going to die anyways.

"Th-the Mizukage ordered that a custom demon child be made to exert p-p-power over the other nations!" He gasped.

Gaara was taken aback! The Mizukage ordered this?

"When Yugure Maruyama s-s-s-sent him a scroll with her suspicions he knew it was t-time to terminate her before she delved too d-d-deeply into the matter!"

Gaara let out a low rumble in his throat. "Where is Yugure?" He asked.

"I had to dispose of her."

Gaara tightened the sand ever so slightly, letting Yagi feel his impending death inch by painful inch.

"It didn't work." He told the petrified ninja. "Your pitiful party was intercepted and destroyed." Gaara frowned, cocking his head as though listening to someone invisible. "You aren't telling me the whole truth." He growled, "If you came here to get your--custom made demon why do you want to kill her?"

Yagi frowned, he was going to die and he knew it. Better to die with what little dignity he had left which was close to none. "Because it's a freak of nature! It doesn't deserve to live! I was going to stop my brother's plans by destroying it myself!"

Gaara howled in rage and the sand crushed the man instantly.

Yugure was crying silently, staring at the full moon as it rose higher into the sky. "_I've failed them all!" _She thought miserably as grief overtook her. _"I know Gaara and the others will keep her safe." _She let out a small wail and then immediately began hacking up blood; painfully she pushed herself over so she wouldn't choke on it. The thought of never seeing her niece again, never seeing Gaara again, or any of the friends she'd made never seeing her beautiful home again continued to drown her in sorrow. In truth, her bone-deep sadness hurt even worse then her wounds. The blood sprayed into the sand and she closed her eyes shut.

"Over here!" Someone called out. Yugure lifted her eyes up to the masked ninja who were crowding over her. His eyes flicked to the insignia in the metal plate.

"This was one of the Kazekage's escorts from Waterfall!" The gravelly voice told his comrades. _"Leave me here!" _Yugure thought weakly, _"Kazekage's daughter…in danger…" _She coughed again, choking on her own blood. It seemed even her mind was too tired to think in full sentences.

An Anbu with long green hair knelt down beside her and began pushing green chakra into her pathways, Yugure began feeling immediate relief.

"It's going to be ok." The Anbu told the stricken kunoichi "You have a shattered jaw, a deep wound that barely missed your lungs, your arms, hands and fingers are broken and you have a serious concussion so you'll have to stay awake with me for now I'm afraid." The medic said apologetically.

Yugure closed her eyes momentarily. She was in agony as the medic began to work on her.

"We'll have to take her to a hospital for her bones. I can stem the bleeding long enough to get her there." The medic's voice now sounded far away and Yugure was given a jolt of green chakra to bring her to her senses.

Yugure's eyes fluttered open weakly as an agonizing cough which sprayed more blood as the medics worked furiously over her forced her wider awake. They began bandaging her face and making splints to keep her legs still. Yugure could neither cry out at the horrible pain, nor clench her jaw to keep her pride. Instead tears of misery began to trail down her cheeks as they gently lifted her into a stretcher. Every jarring motion, every flounder the medics made in the soft sands was torture to the kunoichi. She was strapped down as the medics made the tedious journey home. But at least she was going to live! _"That's what counts!" _Thought Yugure though she didn't feel at all blessed at the moment. Her shattered jaw punished her as her nausea finally forced her to throw up. The medic patiently turned her over while she carefully avoided stepping in the vomit herself. Yugure now felt like she was on fire, but a moan was too pitiful, even though she knew current company wasn't exactly out to murder her.

Gaara sat brooding as he stared at the bloody mess that was Yagi. His heart was broken in two and his eyes were still that burning yellow. No one dared disturb him in his current state. No one that is except Naruto. He burst in through the door, shocking the grieving Gaara out of Shukaku's grasp.

"Gaara! Gaara! It's Yugure! She's alive but just barely! SeesomeSandAnbufoundheroutinthedesertand-"

"Naruto!" Gaara said holding out his hand, "Slow down!"

Naruto stopped to gain his breath.

"Yugure's alive?" The blonde nodded enthusiastically and before Gaara could say a word, Naruto grabbed him by the hand and dragged him towards the hospital.

"Lord Kazekage!" Said the startled medic as Gaara was rushed in the door by his best friend. "I-I wasn't expecting you here-"

Gaara waved her off, the woman was old enough to remember Gaara as a child and she was struggling to hide her fear and loathing from him even now.

"Where's Yugure?" Naruto butted in impatiently, the woman scowled at him. At first Gaara assumed it was because of Naruto-being well-Naruto! But then he caught her fleeting look of fear and hatred for the jinchuuriki of Leaf.

"Room 626 on the third floor." The nurse said tartly and beckoned them to follow her.

Gaara scowled and sent Naruto on ahead. "I'll join you in a second Naruto."

Naruto, as oblivious as ever began to protest but Gaara made a dismissive motion and looking confused, he walked towards the elevator.

Gaara turned towards the elderly nurse. "I won't have you showing disrespect towards my friend and guest." He said severely.

"M-my apologies Lord Kazekage." She quailed.


	11. Plan of Attack Pt 1

**Chapter Eleven**

**Plan of Attack**

Yugure's jaw was wired shut. Her arms and legs were in casts, the medics had just finished healing her stab wounds and she was half-asleep. She jerked when she heard the door open, plastered hand twitching reflexively as though trying to reach for her shuriken. It was a rather pitiful sight. Her eyes fluttered open and when she saw Gaara and Naruto, she relaxed.

"Hey Yugure! How ya feelin?" Naruto asked. Disrupting the quiet of the room. Yugure rolled her eyes and Gaara felt like smacking his forehead with his palm. Or better yet, smacking his best friend.

"Tsuru is fine." He reassured her. Yugure looked vastly relieved at this news.

"Yeah! You shoulda been there Yugure! We kicked their asses!" Naruto yelled excitedly. Punching his fist in the air and doing a victory dance of sorts.

"Naruto, we're in a hospital shut up." Gaara hissed irritably, rubbing his temples.

Yugure wondered how these two could be friends? They were so fundamentally different that they should have tried to kill each other long before this. But then she was reminded with a sharp pang that she and Yoake had been radically different and they had been the best of friends as well. She had been bold; a leader, aggressive, pushy. Yoake had been timid, even when following she had been passive and unobtrusive. But they had always been best friends anyways. Perhaps it wasn't all that difficult to imagine? She mused.

"_I'll bet you did kick their asses Naruto! Only wish…I was…there…to…help you…" _Yugure had fallen into blissful oblivion just as a medic came in.

"Nope sorry Yugure. No sleep for you tonight, don't want you slipping into a coma now do we?" Said the medic sympathetically, clapping her hands loudly to force the exhausted kunoichi awake.

"Don't worry I'll make sure she won't fall asleep!" Naruto assured the medic.

"Oh I have no worries about that." She told him rolling her eyes and allowing herself a small smile. "Pardon me Lord Kazekage but I need to be able to work." She said with a nervous bow. She was young, Gaara noticed and realized her nervousness was due to _"Oh my Kami it's the Kazekage!" _Rather then _"Oh my Kami! It's Shukaku!"_

"You two can come back in when I'm finished here." She said good- naturedly, shooing them out the door. At that moment, Temari, Neji and Kankuro came by, Neji wincing as Tsuru pulled his hair.

"How is she?" Asked Temari.

"She looks like she just got chewed up and spit back out." Said Naruto, taking Tsuru from a grateful Neji's arms. "Mmm hey Neji you think old lady Tsunade will let us stay a while? I'm pretty concerned about these attacks on Tsuru!" Said Naruto.

Neji looked away from the blonde, practically withering inside at the blatant disrespect and lack of decency that Naruto had for ANY authority figures whatsoever.

Gaara held back a smile at the blatant disrespect and lack of decency that Naruto had for any authority figures whatsoever, excluding himself of course! Not that that would ever stop him.

"I'll request that the two of you stay on and we'll call council here soon." He said in his quiet way. "Neji, I would like you to help guard Tsuru." Neji nodded in silent acquiescence. "Naruto, you keep Yugure awake." Naruto nodded. "Temari I need you and two other shinobi to deliver my scroll to the Hokage." Temari understood what he was saying. She too had her suspicions about the council. She knew they had not been pleased about Tsuru. "Kankuro come with me to my office, I need your help with some important matters." Kankuro frowned and followed Gaara into the office. Naruto went to keep Yugure awake, Temari went off to assemble a team, and Neji sighed when he realized that Tsuru was with Naruto and followed the blonde headache in.

"Where is he? What's going on?" A man grumbled angrily. He began pacing with increasing agitation. Something had clearly gone wrong. He would have to return back home quickly before people began to get suspicious.

"Kankuro. I need you on a special reconnaissance task. I have a feeling that some of the council may have been involved in this assassination attempt, but to accuse them of treason is a serious undertaking without hard evidence."

Kankuro frowned, this was going to be a difficult mission. If the council caught him he could be put to death and they could easily turn the tables on Gaara as well. But this was for the sake of family!

"Alright Gaara." He said.

"We'll reconvene in three weeks." Gaara said, looking extremely grateful to Kankuro. Kankuro got up and left, he had a lot of work to do and he had to do it quickly.

Neji sighed in exasperation. Naruto was quickly getting on his nerves and Yugure looked ready to kill him if she had been capable of it.

Gaara walked in and took Tsuru from Naruto's arms.

Neji stood up to accompany the Kazekage out the door. Guard duty was boring work, but if he had to be left in there a moment longer with Naruto…he didn't need his Byakugan to feel the baleful glare Yugure was sending his way. He allowed himself a small smirk before putting the usual mask of superior calm back on his face.

Gaara began rocking Tsuru back and forth, hugging her to his chest in an attempt to calm the fussy infant. Her diaper was clean and she was full. The two of them looked at each other. They truly did have the same eyes. Gaara thought in wonder. Except hers were vibrant and carefree. She didn't even realize what she was or what kind of a life she was in for. For all appearances she looked like a normal human infant.

"But she's not." Shukaku rumbled in his mind. "She's a part of me too." The Sand Spirit laughed and Gaara paled.

"Look there. She's not even afraid of me." There was a moment of silence as Tsuru, who had heard him stared with curiosity in her eyes, before Shukaku continued.

"It's been several centuries since I have had any offspring to care for. I can teach her many great secrets of Tanuki powers and wisdom. You grant me that and I'll grant you sleep."

Gaara was deeply suspicious of Shukaku's offer. He lay her down in her crib and began a vicious struggle to subdue Shukaku.

Neji walked in with quiet authority, scowling as Gaara struggled on the ground.

"Where do you think you're taking her Hyuuga?" Gaara snarled warningly, the undertone in his voice confirming Neji's suspicions.

"You charged me to protect this baby Lord Kazekage." Replied Neji smoothly, "And we both know that this also means protecting her from you as well." That seemed to bring Gaara back under control a little more, though he hated the fact that fighting with the demon could cause Tsuru harm as well as time spent away from each other. But he would do whatever was necessary to protect this precious person.

Neji kept a well-trained ear out as he listened to Gaara's struggles with the beast inside him. Tsuru had been rather distressed to be taken out of her father's care although she had finally fallen asleep after tugging repeatedly on Neji's hair.

Neji didn't trust the Kazekage and he had honestly never liked him to begin with. He had sensed something wrong with him from the start and had always made it a point to have as little contact with him as possible. He would have preferred for Yugure to have taken her niece all the way back to Waterfall and never return to Sand again and if she did not make it through the night…he would have been quite happy to take Tsuru back to Leaf and never return to Sand again. However much Neji wished it, he was a practical man and knew that Tsuru was where she belonged.

Yugure was finally declared out of danger the next day and fell promptly into a deep sleep. Gaara came out of his room, looking haggard and worn out and Naruto took him by the arm and talked to him about things, taking along Tsuru much to Neji's private dismay. Gaara talked to Naruto about the things that Shukaku had said, talked about his fears that Shukaku would take over and kill Tsuru and his worries that he would not be able to be a good father. If anyone was able to understand, it would be Naruto.

"Gaara." Said Naruto, tickling the little girl under her chin. "You're already being a good father by showing concern for her safety. You'll do just fine and I'll stay here as long as you want me too to help out."

Gaara knew what Naruto meant. Where there may have been implied meanings with other people like Neji and even Kankuro, he knew that Naruto would always be honest with his feelings and not have an ulterior motive.

Temari returned a few days later, spending a lot of her time helping to take care of Tsuru. She would also be helping out Yugure who would be in recovery for several weeks since Sand's medical facilities just weren't as advanced as Leaf's were.

_Three Weeks Later_

Kankuro had reported back with his findings. They were not as grim as Gaara had feared, but they were not good either. It turned out that there had been a traitor who had met in secret with Yagi without the rest of the council being privy to his actions. Gaara now had to consider what to do, an assassination of Sand's oldest and most respected council member would immediately arouse suspicions and the political ramifications of ousting him through the use of espionage would only make the council more unified in their defense of him. This was going to be an even more delicate operation then he initially thought.

**Little Kunai**

**So…was anyone expecting the Mizukage being involved? **

**Intrigue and political scandal and the impromptu **

**torturing of Yugure by our favorite knuckle-head ninja.**

**Can't get much better then that for this chapter folks!**


	12. Journey to Hidden Mist Pt One

**Chapter Twelve**

**Journey to Hidden Mist Pt. One**

Kankuro and three other ninja were standing in front of the Kazekage's desk being briefed. They were going to do a long operation which involved infiltrating Mist and spying on the Mizukage before taking any decisive action. It was going to be a long and dangerous mission since Mist was far more secretive then other shinobi villages. It would take them nearly a week to get their and then they would have to study their targets habits and ranks before moving into arguably the most violent Hidden Village of all.

They started out, conserving their energy as they made their three day trek out of the desert, Kankuro knew the trail to River Country as well as he knew his puppets. When they got into the neutral territory, they stopped to fill their water supplies, speaking only when necessary. When you were on an S-Rank reconnaissance mission you had to be suspicious of everyone and everything.

The man and one of the women with him were both spies, the black haired, blue-eyed woman; Mei was forty-three years old. She had had experience for at least ten years in the field and was tough as nails, cool as a cucumber and came highly recommended.

The younger brown-haired, hazel eyed boy was Taro. He was a promising newbie, only 17 but also came highly recommended. He was shrewd and intelligent and very little seemed to miss his sharp eyes.

Then there was Aiko, she had blonde hair and blue eyes and was an excellent scout, a good fighter and a good tactician. She was 33, a real beauty too, he thought eyeing her hopefully, and then he frowned when he saw the ring on her finger. Married. Damn.

All in all it was a good team and Kankuro was glad. They moved resolutely through the tall trees, all senses on alert. They would have to move through Leaf and Waterfall before heading towards the coast. Water Country was treacherous territory and ran very close towards Lightning Country.

They would need to move quickly enough to get there in time and slowly enough to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Grass had no love for Sand and the feeling was mutual. That would be the first hostile territory they would move through on their way towards the coast.

They were on neutral terms with Waterfall only because of their alliance with Leaf. However, Waterfall did fall under the rule of the Mizukage so spies could be anywhere. Kankuro wondered if Yugure was in on this? But if so, why would Waterfall have tried to eliminate her?

He frowned. That was something he would have to find out. She could be a Trojan horse. When it came to enemies, everyone was suspect. He began to think about that while he walked. Was Yugure a traitor and a threat to Sand? He decided to look at all the facts. When she found out that her sister had died she had been very distraught. No one could fake those tears, though his father had had no problem destroying his mother for the sake of wielding the Shukaku's power.

On the other hand, his parents had never loved each other. It had been a marriage of convenience. He had wanted a family, she had wanted power. She had been willing to give him his family, until Gaara. She had even tried to abort him, once she'd found out what the Kazekage had planned to do with him.

Yagi's confession could have been for the sole purpose of taking suspicion off Yugure. He had no love for either Yugure or Tsuru.

They moved out of River Country the next day, which left them four days to get to Mist. They were given free passage through Leaf and then headed towards Waterfall.

Waterfall. How involved was Waterfall? Come to think of it, where the hell was the village? He hadn't seen so much as a stinkin' hut when they were passing by the massive falls. Kankuro frowned. Another thing to try and figure out. Only Waterfall's closest allies knew its location, but they remained tight-lipped. It wasn't well known for turning out high caliber shinobi that was for sure, as a matter of fact it was known for turning out mostly mediocre ones and only a few good ones. That was kinda pathetic. No wonder so many of the truly fantastic Falls ninja became missing nin. He wouldn't want to be associated with a village like that anyways. Though that could be one of the reasons for creating Tsuru.

Water Country only had two shinobi villages under their rule, one was kinda pathetic and the second was outstanding and perhaps Water Country had felt cheated somehow and sought to boost its own power either in Mist or Waterfall.

They kept to the trees, eyes and ears sharp, senses extended and chakra cloaked as they went past the village. They weren't harassed and that worried Kankuro. He sent Aiko out to scout and they stayed hidden in the trees. All three were tense, every chirp, every rustle, every movement seemed amplified in their ears as they waited for Aiko to return. Half an hour passed when she finally came back.

"The way is clear sir." She whispered and they slowly came down from the concealing foliage.

Another day had passed and they had finally made it out of the forests and onto the vast plains of Hidden Grass. Kankuro consulted the map, even though the grass grew as tall as his waist they would have to be careful. It would take them a day and a half to get through Grass without incident and they were exposed, so there was no chance of them coming going through Grass without a fight.

Two pairs of eyes watched the Sand team walking through the tall grass and slapping their exposed skin to get rid of the stinging bugs. The shinobi hunched low to the ground like lions surveying their prey. The two Grass nin had been patrolling the area when they caught sight of the intruders. One of the men had stuck out like a sore thumb, his outfit and the wrapped bundle on his back gave him away as a puppet nin, but it also gave away his identity. They remembered him from the Chunin exams, he was the Kazekage's brother.

Out here there was only the rainy season and the dry season, there was one river that had its source at Waterfall and ran through Grass and was the only constant source of water. The rest dried up with the searing heat. Which was why Grass had set up its village by the Eien River. Furthermore it was easier to trap enemy shinobi in the dry season, because eventually they would have to refill their own water supplies and the big river would be the only source left and it was the peak of the dry season for Grass.

Both shinobi had blonde hair, they wore outfits of gold and brown to blend in with the parched grass. Grass ninja were nothing to sneeze at. They were a deadly bunch, excellent at concealing themselves and had warred with both Sand and Leaf in the past. They had even mastered a camouflage jutsu which rendered them nearly invisible. They were bounty hunters, spies, bug masters and had excellent reconnaissance teams, their major problem these days were their numbers.

They had nearly been destroyed by Leaf, Sand and Stone (back when Stone was a force to be reckoned with) during the last Great Shinobi Wars and had taken another devastating blow by raids from Sound, shortly after Sand and Sound's attempt at destroying Leaf. Orochimaru was always on the lookout for shinobi to experiment on, or worse for that damn Eternal Life jutsu or whatever the hell he'd called it. A lot of their Genin had been stolen and a few of their best warriors, particularly those with rare bloodline traits had disappeared.

Grass nin held hefty grudges that lasted throughout generations and they'd be damned if they'd let some high and mighty Sand nin come waltzing through their territory like they owned the place.

Six more nin surrounded the Sand ninja, each taking strategic spots around them, the bugs that Batta had sent to bite them were injecting venom into their systems. It wasn't deadly, but it would short circuit their nervous systems, cause their reaction time to slow down and screw up their motor functions when the Grass nin closed in for the kill.

"Ugh, I feel weak." Whispered Aiko, swaying wearily.

"I do too." Said Taro, "Something's wrong." He reached for a kunai but dropped it, his hands began twitching violently as he tried to pick it up but his fingers weren't working.

Mei frowned. "So do I. What could it be?"

"The bugs." Said Taro, "When they bit us, they must have injected some kind of poison."

"It's an ambush." Said Mei.

**Author's Note:**

**Ooh cliffhanger**

**Sorry for not updating forever and a day. **

**Hope you enjoyed it. How are Kankuro and his team going to get out of this one? **

**You'll just have to wait till the next chapter peeps! **


	13. Journey to Hidden Mist Pt Two

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Journey to Hidden Mist Pt. Two**

**Authoress**

**Yes! I finally got inspired for this fight!**

**Though it took me a while to figure out how they**

**were gonna get out of this nasty mess!**

That's when two Grass nin came out, however because of their clothes and camouflage jutsu they could only be heard.

Kankuro cursed angrily, there was no way he could use his puppets and outrunning them would only speed up the venom's process. Kankuro stared at them, face contorted into an angry snarl. Grass ninja had always been a testy bunch.

Mei cursed. "Shit! It's the Raion Ansatsu Buntai!"

Kankuro and his team were not pleased about this news. The RAB was a group composed entirely of Hidden Grass' elite stationed all over the vast grasslands. They were deadly, smart, incredibly strong and over fifty percent had rare and extremely powerful bloodline traits. They had once been rumored to have wiped out a decent sized raiding party from Hidden Cloud. To run into them on their way to Mist was nothing short of disastrous and Kankuro wondered briefly if this was a bad omen. Wind and Earth Country had been at each other's throats for generations.

It was then that Mei beckoned to him. She frowned, what she was about to do was chancy but he was their best bet. She grabbed the tiny packet, ripped it open with clumsy fingers and poured the contents of the powder down his throat, tsking unsympathetically when he gagged. "Don't you dare throw that up! You have the best chance to get us out of here with your puppets!"

Kankuro felt feeling flooding back into his body. His fingers were throbbing and tingling painfully, but he forced himself to pick up a few shuriken and threw them at a shinobi. Flexing his fingers Kankuro knew that he could finally bring out his puppets, these assholes were going to be sorry they messed with ninja from Hidden Sand!

Fortunately Kankuro had an ace up his sleeve. Elder Chiyo had trained him in the White Secret Technique. As part of his initiation into advanced puppet jutsu, he had to make his own divine ten puppets at the Wind Temple. Unfortunately he had not gotten to complete his training before she had died and he could control a maximum of four with just the bare basics. But four was better then one, especially since he was regaining more and more body control after ingesting that foul tasting powder.

First he brought out his large shield puppet Red Beetle, with its metallic wings arcing over them; it would offer his team some protection. Red Beetle rooted itself in the ground and spikes dripping with poison shot up from every surface, performing a few hand signs, it would stay there until he came to get it. Next he called out four of his ten and held them at the ready, dispersing chakra strings and waited.

The RAB were a patient bunch, living out here, patience was a virtue learned early on, they could make an enemy wait for hours while they slowly closed in and the wind thrashing the grass only helped conceal any noise they made better, furthermore, it drove less impatient enemies crazy and made them attack first.

The two members that had leaped out before held Kankuro's attention completely, they went on the attack, mostly Tai jutsu and a few weapons while they waited for their comrades to find an opportune moment. Kankuro's puppets leaped forward, one was in a spinning kick and the second one shot a stream of water from his mouth, Kankuro would refrain from using fire attacks. That would be disastrous for everyone. The other six were still creeping in slowly and Batta gathered his swarm of fighting bugs.

Suddenly Kamaji began coughing and hacking. "Poison!" He wheezed "The female puppet has poison." a thick, syrupy, dark brown liquid trickled from his mouth and Kamaji fell to the ground, vomiting violently.

Batta swore and released his insects, but the second puppet blasted them away with water, cutting the swarm in half with powerful jets. Batta growled when he saw his precious insects twitching on the as they died and recalled his swarm, but as angry as he was, he faded away and looked to his captain for instruction.

Ryu grit her teeth as she stopped and considered the situation. The puppet nin had his comrades well protected, Kamaji was dead and they hadn't seen what the other puppets could do, yet, they also weren't sure how many more he was capable of bringing out. She needed someone to test the other two puppets first. She signaled to Bishamon and Kano.

Bishamon was talented with swords, he was a big man, nearly 6 foot he attacked the other puppet head on. Blocking every move with his two curved blades.

Kano favored the monkey style of fighting and he was incredibly fast, he dodged and leaped out of the way blocking the puppet's attacks with his metal rod and leaping away again. He managed to knock off the head and pulled a trigger, two sharp blades came out from the sides and he impaled the puppet.

Kankuro reattached the puppet strings to the head and the chattering puppet came at RAB and shot out poisoned senbon. But Kano swatted them away. The head swerved to the right and delivered another round of them. Ryu hit Kankuro in the head with her own sword and Kankuro raised his arm to take a gash there, he grunted in pain, released his strings and kicked her legs. She rolled on the ground and faced off against the poisoned puppet.

Fortunately, she had an immunity to over a hundred different poisons, including this one. Her clan were poison masters and medics, she rocked back, low to the ground and dodged the female puppet, punching Kankuro hard in the gut, Kankuro tried to kick her in the face and Ryu flowed around and dodged him easily, long green hair rippling like water, the female puppet grabbed her hair and flung her backwards.

Ryu twisted her body and landed on her hands, performing a round off and moving into a flip flop. She dodged left, while Kankuro's puppet followed her.

He jerked on another strong and his ten armed puppet grabbed Bishamon, ducked under the swords and clamped down on his throat. The man gurgled and poofed away in a haze of smoke.

Kankuro cursed wildly, unaware that three more of the RAB were nearly on top of him and one was tunneling underneath.

Taro's ears perked up at a faint scrabbling noise. "Do you hear that?" He whispered. Aiko frowned and strained her ears, it was very slight but she could just make it out.

She pointed to the ground below and the others nodded weakly in understanding. Taro frowned. They were in no condition to fight members of the RAB. They needed to get the antidote from the petals of an endangered flower that grew in Hidden Grass before they could do anything useful.

Anzu felt the ground above her. Good, she thought, retracting her chakra claws. She could come in there and take them out before the puppet-wielding punk realized what happened.

Taro grabbed a kunai and clamped down on it with some help from Aiko. One…two…three…four…

Anzu burst from the ground, face first into a kunai and she shrieked as the sharp poisoned blade went right into her eye. She was dead in a matter of minutes.

Taro leaned back against Aiko and breathed a sigh of relief.

Kankuro now had full control of his body, but even then he still struggled with keeping awareness on all three of his puppets, he'd had to recall the one that had been destroyed and was busy trying to fend off the lone RAB female when he heard an ear shattering scream of pain from inside Red Beetle.

He could only hope that it wasn't one of his teammates, because he was in no position to help them right now. This woman was a tough opponent, she distorted her movements in such a way that he missed by inches, her tai jutsu had a flowing quality to it and even though it looked like she was moving at a slower pace then she should be, she was way too fast for him and Kankuro realized that she was using genjutsu to disguise her moves. Clever girl, pretty too, he thought as she punched him in the chin and nearly sent him flying on the ground. All he had to do now was get her a few seconds before hand, so he waited and watched, dodging and ducking her kicks and punches, getting torn up by kunai and senbon that she flung when he miscalculated.

Finally he managed to hit the kunoichi and she smiled at him. "So you figured it out? You're not as dumb as you look." She flared her chakra.

"One of us has to go and find a patch of Medic's Little Helper so we can help Kankuro." Mei said. "There was a patch, half a mile north from here by that big rock, that's more then enough for the three of us."

Taro nodded. "I'll go. I've got the most control over my motor functions."

"Right." Said Aiko, "I'll guard the entrance to the hole, three knocks on the dirt to let us know its you. Got that?" She asked.

"Yeah. Got it." He said and went into the tunnel that the dead RAB had dug.

"Aiko look at this!" Said Mei who had been checking the kunoichi for antidotes, she cursed when she dropped it and it broke open.

"Shit! That would have been enough for both of us, if I hadn't gone and spilled half of it!"

Aiko frowned, "You're a better fighter then I am Mei, you take it. You have to go and help Taro. Kankuro and I will have take care of ourselves."

"Right." She said, she downed the little tube and waited a few minutes for it to kick in, when it did she gave Aiko a few kunai dipped in her special poison and went after Taro. She found him surrounded by three more RAB members, wounded and bleeding.

Mei was a fierce fighter, she charged and managed to wound the oldest member of the group with her poisoned kunai and then picked up Taro and ran for it. Mentally checking her list, as far as she knew there was at least two dead, the kunoichi who had tunneled under Kankuro's puppet and the old ninja she had just slashed at.

She suddenly felt a flare of foreign chakra and the RAB moved off in the direction Kankuro was in.

"Mei? I can run you know. Put me down. How'd you get here anyways?"

"We found an antidote on the dead kunoichi, but I spilled some of it and there was only enough left for one of us. We decided I should come and help you out. Now save your strength and get on my back, the faster you move the faster the venom will spread!"

Taro obliged and began working on a genjutsu he'd made up called Fade Away Fast, the only thing was Mei would have to slow down and be quiet or else their cover would be blown.

"Mei slow it down to a light jog and don't speak." He whispered and strained his eyes against the blinding sun, trying hard to distinguish between the wind whipping the grass and RAB moving through it.

Mei spotted the large rock and began moving towards it, they had already wasted twenty minutes getting here and for all she knew Kankuro and Aiko could be dead by now. They gathered the flowers quickly and went back for Aiko. Taro ate the sweet, candy-like petals, silently swearing to help get the species off the endangered list if he survived this mission.

Twenty minutes later, Taro was administering the petals to Aiko while Mei went to help Kankuro.

Kankuro was being worn down, he had cuts and bruises in numerous places. "Mei! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'll explain later, but Aiko and Taro will be here in a couple of minutes."

And just like magic, Taro and Aiko were there. But even with three RAB dead, they were outnumbered and outmatched and there was nothing else to do but retreat and the four ninja practically flew across Hidden Grass with the RAB hot on their heels.

Three days later even though they were off schedule, they had made it to Hidden Mist. They had to steal a small boat and the sea fog rolled in, getting lost and fighting against the strong treacherous currents that threatened to toss the chakra powered boat into the cruel rocks, hidden in the fog.


	14. Fly On the Wall

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Fly on the Wall**

**Author's Note:**

**Man it's been a while. **

**There are only two more chapter left now. **

**I'm so psyched! **

Just as Yugure was nearly recovered, her body was once again being seriously damaged. When they had come to take her away, she had only given a strange smile.

"What good is it gonna do to tell you people that I had nothing to do with this? Hell! If I were in your position I'd probably be doing the same." she said and with that she allowed herself to be taken to the interrogation cells.

Neji's lips twitched but remained markedly silent, he could see the truth of it in the Waterfall nin's face and eyes, but they would not take his word for it and he would probably end up in the same situation. It was also stressing out little Tsuru who seemed to notice her aunt's disappearance and the good natured baby cried a lot more then Neji recalled.

Naruto protested Yugure's innocence loudly to the point where Neji had had to _shut him up _himself.

Of course, Takigakure took great offense and the situation between the two villages were quickly becoming tense. It was possible that Sand might be going to war against the Land of Water.

Gaara was heartsick with the whole thing and Shukaku of course encouraged bloody visions and whispered poison in his mind.

"I told she was no good Gaara. To hell with the interrogation. We should go down their and kill, like she tried to kill my offspring." Shukaku said.

"I don't know if she is a traitor yet." Gaara answered as he tried to steady his breathing.

"She'll tell you lies." The demon insisted.

"You tell me lies too. Sometimes." Gaara said weakly. Though he had a good point, the tanuki was quick to try and counter it.

"Blood and death are as true as the sun rising and setting. Sun sets are red Gaara, blood is red. Let's do it. Let's kill her. She betrayed you. Make her red. Make her bleed out like the sky does before twilight sets in Gaara. She's strong, but not that strong. Blood sweetened by passion is delicious. Almost as delicious as killing the strongest."

"She loves me."

"Loves you? No female could ever love you. You're a monster. Who could love a monster?"

Those words brought back that old venomous pain and all the insecurities he'd been working so hard to banish rushed back from their shallow graves and Gaara nearly gave in to the old Tanuki's urges.

It was Tsuru's wails and whimpers that snapped Gaara out of his bloodlust.

Even Shukaku quieted. Even if this pale little creature was only half demon, the tanuki would not disturb his offspring further tonight.

Kankuro's team had spent time studying the ninja they'd be impersonating, learning their mannerisms and quirks, personalities and positions, their interpersonal relationships and their appearances. Once they felt confident enough, two of them went to work.

Kankuro himself would act as a homeless man inside the village, he and his puppets would act as the go-between between Taro and Mei who would be their inside spies and Aiko who would be sending news of their findings to Sand via her Lizard summons.

Sneaking into Mist was difficult and everyday they'd been there had Kankuro's nerves frayed and his temper shorter then ever.

The interrogator wrenched Yugure's freshly healed arm, causing her to cry out in pain. It had been going on for two days now and her mind was becoming foggy with it all. If only she hadn't just got done healing she would be in a stronger state of mind. But the young Taki kunoichi managed to keep her story straight through it.

"How deeply are you involved?" The interrogator asked as he pulled her wrist back to the breaking point.

"I'm not." She moaned.

"Oh but you are. In fact that's the whole reason you seduced the Kazekage isn't it Yugure? It's a classic kunoichi strategy. You had all of us convinced for a while." He smiled benevolently as he dislocated her fingers one by one before twisting them around as she let out a shriek of pain.

"Tell me. Did Water set the Monomane loose as a distraction to throw us all off guard? Do you feel guilty allowing your sickly civilian sister to be impregnated and killed for your own ends?"

"You've-got a-a lot of nerve talking like…like that Sand!" She snarled angrily and was promptly subject to lashes with a whip for her smart mouth. This time though, Yugure grit her teeth until her head ached and her throat burned from keeping in her agony.

Kankuro yawned, watching as a puff of condensed air dissipated into the thick mists. He had broken out into a cold sweat since it was unusually chilly this morning and the thin raggedy blankets he had stolen from an old man weren't doing shit. What's more was he stank, not showering for nearly a week. At that second Mei came by and dropped a tiny piece of paper discreetly in his lap.

Kankuro waited until she was out of sight before he read it and swore inwardly.

"Oh shit!" He thought. Mei was going into the lion's den today.

Mei walked quickly into the Mizukage's mansion with her subordinates. She was becoming very nervous since this was the one part of her target's life she hadn't studied at all. She could only hope that she had studied her target well enough.

Even with his gray hair and tired, black eyes, the man was still menacing. Age it seemed, had little effect on his keen mind and his physical strength. She observed.

He nodded, gesturing for them to speak.

"Lord Mizukage I have urgent news."

"Speak."

"We have recently received word from our spy in Sand that Yugure Maruyama is alive."

The Mizukage clenched his fist and pounded it on his desk. "Damn! This is bad news."

"Sand does not seem to be aware of the purpose behind the attack and doesn't appear to be on the move."

"That doesn't matter you fool."

"Sir?"

"Sand is going to be highly suspicious as to why Waterfall tried to kill the kunoichi and the Waterfall Village is under the rule of Water Country. Its high treason to lead an attack on another village, let alone another Kage's house or family without authorization."

"It's possible that they may have thought that it was a rogue who led the raid sir." Suggested Mei.

"Yes, that could be possible Snake. But I don't know how much that fool Yagi told them before he was killed. So we have to assume that they know everything and be prepared for an attack." The Mizukage was silent for a moment.

"We could also do damage control and plant rumors that Yugure Maruyama was acting as a Trojan horse for the failed operation."

"With your permission sir, I'd like to double the guards and close off our walls to outsiders." Mei's "subordinate" said.

"That might be wise." He said.

Mei frowned, that could be a problem. Time to do some damage control herself.

"Permission to speak Lord Mizukage." Mei said in a brisk and business like manner, which was not unlike her own. Which was the reason Mei had chosen her to impersonate. Her success as a spy was largely due to the fact that she found people like herself to impersonate. Though she'd never tell that to any of the younger recruits.

"Permission granted." The Mizukage said.

Mei took a very daring risk.

"Let's say Sand is suspicious of us which is a high probability and they sent out a team of spies to snoop around and found that we had doubled our guards and closed off our borders then it would only deepen that suspicion and make the situation worse."

"So you want to play it cool and keep it casual to throw suspicion off us?"

"Yes, that and planting rumors of the Waterfall Kunoichi being a Trojan Horse on a rogue raid would benefit your plan greatly until we capture the demon child."

"That's why I hired you Snake. You were always an excellent tactician. You will be leading a team of invisible spies to patrol Mist's borders in an hour. Dismissed."

Mei bowed and returned to her work without faltering. But inside she was suddenly nervous. Invisible guards were hard enough. But now that she had to lead the patrol herself, it would be nearly impossible to get the warning out to Kankuro and Aiko. Their plan was rapidly deteriorating.


	15. Plan of Attack Pt 2

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Plan of Attack Part Two**

Gaara was sleeping at his desk when a small brown lizard named Aki-chan poofed onto his desk with a chitter. Aki-chan was one of Aiko's summons.

"Mission Status Report: Mizukage is after the Kazekage child. He is secretly gathering forces in case Sand attacks. Plans to spread rumors that Yugure Maruyama was in league against the Kazekage via a spy. Team has discovered strategic weak points in structural defenses. Team awaiting orders…ya got any juicy grubs?"

Gaara blinked at the little reptile, thrown off by the last few words. There would have to be a change of plans. They would have to send a lone assassin instead of coming at Mist with their military might.

"Tell the team to pull out and wait in the Land of Waves for ANBU Operative Tarantula, give Tarantula coordinates and return to Sand immediately. And no I don't have any grubs for you."

"Awww….." With that the disappointed summons left in a swirl of white smoke and Gaara felt relief in his chest that Yugure was innocent and fear in his heart for his brother.

He called for Neji Hyuuga who arrived within minutes.

"You called for me Lord Kazekage?"

"Yes. I need you to sneak Yugure out of her prison cell and replace her with one of the condemned inmates on death row, the closer you can get to someone who looks like her the better. They are going to be spreading rumors that she was in league with the assassins, but there are spies reporting back to Mist so her release needs to stay a secret."

"Yes Lord Kazekage."

"Hana, get me ANBU Tarantula

After relaying the Kazekage's orders to Aiko, Aki-chan poofed away.

Now she and Kankuro worked to get Taro and Mei out, the two of them were out for a routine run around Mist with the ANBU so it would be extremely difficult and risky without blowing their cover. They had to wait for the two spies to make their fourth pass before Taro told his superior that he had spotted something.

The two of them went to check it out, while barking out orders to fan out and comb the area, than they made a run for it.

ANBU Tarantula showed up in a week, pushing himself hard on the journey. He was a puppet nin and one of Sand's greatest prodigies when it came to poisons and antidotes. Mei silently approved the Kazekage's choice in operatives. She had worked with him on occasion before, the man had yet to fail any of his assassination missions, though he was a little eccentric at times.

He was tall and wiry, with short spiky brown hair and long limbs. His ANBU mask was decorated to look like a spider's face, secretly unnerving comrade and enemy alike. He was also a summoner of spiders great and small, which also helped in his assassinations, Mei had always been slightly arachnophobic, something he had taken delight in teasing her for after the missions were done and they were heading home.

They quickly handed him the coordinates and left Tarantula to do his job as they started the long journey home.

Neji Hyuuga silently slipped into the prison area, he had already impersonated a guard and had quickly picked out his target, though she was slightly taller and her eyes were more of a pale brown-green, the rogue Sand nin was the best Neji could do on such short notice and no one else had come remotely close to matching Yugure's looks.

He quickly knocked her out and brought unconscious body into Yugure's cell, where she was ushered out quickly and brought into a small holding cell. Unfortunately, the Kazekage could not have a medic heal her, for fear of a leak, so she would have to deal with her injuries until things were sorted out, fortunately none of her injuries were life threatening and she had been partially healed to keep her alive and conscious.

Tarantula crept through the walls and skittered on the roof of the Mizukage's Tower, the nearly full moon was bright tonight which bugged the ANBU since the conditions were not favorable for a ninja of his fame and notoriety. There were too many people who spread word about Sand's famous assassin and his mask was much too recognizable.

His black eyes flickered over the guards and he sent a few of his baby spider summons out to bite them, they may be just babies but one bite could put a full grown shinobi to sleep in a few short seconds, several bites could kill them.

After the guards had been dropped he sent out a spider as large as human being's head in for the kill, the new Mizukage shot up with a sharp moan and tried to get out of bed, but his motor functions were almost nil and the man struggled just to untangle himself from the sheets. The spiders poofed away and Tarantula snuck out of the village unscathed.

"Yugure" was executed in the morning as news of the new Mizukage's death spread rapidly across the shinobi world while Neji and Naruto smuggled the barely functioning Falls kunoichi back to her village.

Gaara hoped that she could forgive him in time and accept his marriage proposal but for now they both needed time and distance to heal.

Epilogue

It had been nine long months before Yugure's name was cleared and Gaara proposed to the delighted kunoichi and a two short months since the wedding. Yugure was delighted to be back with the two loves of her lives and though she would miss Waterfall cool beauty, she looked forward to moving in with her husband and her new family.

Shukaku, had been trying to be more active so he could watch Tsuru's activities. He never did stop trying to get his vessel to let him teach his first half-human child tanuki secrets and was frustrated that his attempts were blocked at all costs. Finally the frustrated sand demon called for his older offspring and bade them to teach his youngest and newest her heritage and watch out for her, since human beings were such fragile creatures.

And nobody ever seemed to notice when Tsuru tumbled and played with the part-grown tanuki cubs who were invisible to everyone else's eyes but hers.

* * *

**This definitely wasn't my best chapter and certainly not my longest.**

**and for some reason the underline and alignmenr tabs aren't working on **

**so I'm sorry for that too and I'll fix this chapter's underline and alignment issues as soon as the site quits acting wonky on me.**

**This ended up being the last chapter though and if you want to get a look at Gaara's daughter in her genin years,**

**I've already begun work on Pandemonium**


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